'Edge of Tomorrow' Tops Chinese Box Office With $25M,Tom Cruise's Biggest Opening Ever

“Edge of Tomorrow” may have been a nonstarter at the U.S. box office, but it found its most enthusiastic audience in China.

Tom Cruise’s latest sci-fi spectacle came in third place behind “The Fault in Our Stars” and “Maleficent” at the U.S. box office, with $29.1 million, but it took home the the top spot in China, with a debut haul of $25 million. The raw numbers may be smaller, but it represents a much larger slice of the pie, considering the Chinese market is about a third the size of America’s. This weekend’s opening places “Edge of Tomorrow” above “Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol” and its $19.8 million debut, giving “Edge of Tomorrow” the biggest-ever opening for a Tom Cruise movie in China, Box Office Mojo notes.

“Edge of Tomorrow” also took the No. 1 spot in both South Korea and Russia, with an additional $16.1 million and $8.6 million, respectively. “Edge of Tomorrow” was the No. 1 movie in the world with a weekend gross of $111 million, $82 million of which came from outside America.

The strong international showing for “Edge of Tomorrow” is somewhat unexpected, considering that the film opened in a handful of markets last weekend to little fanfare and only $20 million across 28 countries. At the time, it suggested that some international audiences had lost interest in Cruise, but based on his strong performance this weekend, it seems more likely that they were just distracted by competition from the simultaneous release of Angelina Jolie's “Maleficent.”

The numbers remind us that while America may have soured on Cruise in recent years, the former “Top Gun” star remains a force to be reckoned with internationally. Given the extremely positive reviews “Edge of Tomorrow” has garnered, it might be time for Americans to reconsider their breakup with Cruise.

Meanwhile, another American blockbuster, “X-Men: Days of Future Past,” continued to pick up steam in China. The film, which features Chinese actress Fan Bingbing in a medium-sized role, took home $7.5 million in that country, pushing it past $100 million over its three weeks in Chinese theaters. The Marvel Comics adaptation has thus far grossed $611 globally, the highest for any X-Men film.

“Maleficent” has yet to open in China, but Angelina Jolie’s reimagining of “Snow White” could make waves when it hits the box office there June 20.