The Meg
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.Talk about a sharp bite.
On Wednesday, Warner Bros.’ The Meg swam past the $200 million buoy at the global box office to become the No. 3 shark pic of all time behind Steven Spielberg’s 1975 classic Jaws and 2004’s animated Shark Tale, not adjusted for inflation.
The Meg, directed by Jon Turteltaub and starring Jason Statham, has taken a far bigger bite out of the box office than anyone anticipated.
In North America, the movie finished Tuesday with a six-day total of $59.4 million, besting the entire lifetime runs of recent shark hits The Shallows ($55.1 million) and 47 Meters Down ($44.3 million).
The Shallows, starring Blake Lively, grossed $119 million globally against a $17 million budget in summer 2016, reinvigorating the genre. 47 Meters — which didn’t play overseas — was likewise a win, considering it cost $5.5 million to produce.
The Meg was a far bigger proposition in terms of budget. Sources say it cost at least $150 million to make, while Warners puts the net cost at $130 million.
Overseas, The Meg finished Tuesday with $153.9 million for a global total of $213.4 million. A large chunk has come from China, where Gravity Pictures is handling distribution. Gravity co-financed and co-produced the pic with Warners.
Li Bingbing, Rainn Wilson, Ruby Rose, Winston Chao and Cliff Curtis co-star in the movie, which follows a group of scientists trying to stop a mammoth shark from causing destruction.
Jaws remains the top-grossing live-action shark film of all time, adjusted or not. Unadjusted, it grossed $470.7 million globally, including $260 million domestically. Adjusted for inflation, the pic has brought in more than $1.18 billion globally.
Shark Tale, released by DreamWorks, earned $367.3 million worldwide, unadjusted.
