The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies storms China on $49.3m

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The fantasy finale amassed $54.1m overall from 61 markets to finish the weekend on $617.1m.

The Rmb 307m Chinese debut from 8,076 screens was a clear number one result that delivered not only the aforementioned industry record but nearly overtook in three days the entire Rmb 315.9m gross of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.

Approximately $6.8m of the China haul came from 196 Imax screens in a record non-summer score and the second best after $9.75m for Transformers 4.

The top market remains Germany on $78m followed by the UK on $63.8m, then China followed by France on $45.7m and Russia on $30.2m.

Australia has generated $27.3m, South Korea $22.1m, Spain $19.6m, Brazil $19.4m, Mexico $17.2m, Italy $17.2m and Sweden $16.5m.

American Sniper opened in 17 markets this weekend and grossed $18m from 26 overall as the tally climbed to an early $48.9m.

The war film – already a smash in North America on $200m after two weekends in wide release – debuted at number one in Australia on $4.3m from 298 for Clint Eastwood’s biggest launch. The tally climbs to $4.6m including previews.

American Sniper also opened top and set Eastwood records in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Portugal, Philippines and Hong Kong. 

The film held on to number one in the UK as $3.8m propelled the running total to $10m after two sessions and overtook the lifetime totals of every Eastwood film except Gran Torino.

The fireworks continued in Italy as $1.5m secured second place and boosted the score to $21.1m after four sessions. The film opens in France on February 18, Brazil and Mexico on February 19, Spain on February 20 and Japan on February 21. It opens in Germany on February 26.

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UPDATE: Taken 3 surged to $151.4m including EuropaCorp thanks to a $26.2m weekend haul from 63 markets. The thriller opened in France on $8.2m via EuropaCorp in a record Liam Neeson debut and delivered $2.1m in a Brazilian debut on 411 for second place via Fox.

The UK added $2.8m for $23.3m to rank second in the third session, while Australia climbed by $1m to $10.4m after three and Spain reached $2.3m after two.

DreamWorks Animations’ Penguins Of Madagascar added $9.7m from 51 and stands at $241.6m. Brazil added $2.6m in the second weekend for $10.1m while Argentina debuted top on $1.2m from 223.

Night At The Museum: Secret Of The Tomb added $9.3m from 63 to reach $192.9m. It added $2.5m in the third session in China for $44.2m and $1.4m in South Korea for $5.9m after two.

Secret Of The Tomb opened top in Venezuela on a superb $1m from 69 that more than doubled the opening weekend of the second entry in the comedy series.

Exodus: Gods And Kings grossed $5.4m from 31 and stands at $189.6m. Italy added $1.9m for $5.9m after two and Brazil has reached $22.5m after five.

Saturday night’s PGA best feature winner Birdman used $4.4m from 26 markets to vault to $19.3m and stands at $2.8m in Australia after two sessions and $7.2m in the UK after four. Debuts in Russia and Hong Kong delivered $531,000 from 469 and $291,000 from 63, respectively.

Wild stands at $5m and Let’s Be Cops $53.1m. Gone Girl stands at $200.8m.

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Big Hero 6 arrived in South Korea on $6.4m for the second biggest opening for a Disney Animation/Pixar film behind Frozen. Overall the film grossed $14.9m from 33 territories for $238.6m.

Into The Woods grossed $5.1m from 23 for an early $34m and added $2m in the UK for $10.9m. The musical opened top in Spain on $800,000.

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UPDATE: The Imitation Game took $7.8m over the weekend to propel the running total to $61m. The wartime drama opened in Germany and Austria via Square One and earned $1m including previews.

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UPDATE: The Theory Of Everything took $6.6m from 25 territories for $41.1m, launching in France on $520,000 in 213 venues and adding $2.3m in its fourth weekend in the UK to reach $22.3m.

The Stephen and Jane Hawking drama opens in 13 territories this week including Australia and Brazil.   

Seventh Son took $4.7m from 46 as the overall tally reached $76.1m. Approximately $24m of that comes from China, where Legendary East distributes.

Unbroken added $3.9m from 35 territories for $28.2m, Black Hat grossed $1.5m from 30 for an early $4.3m and Ouija boosted its running total by $3.1m from 14 to reach $44.4m. The horror opened in Germany at number four on $1.2m from 259. Boyhood stands at $22.1m and The Water Diviner $12.2m.

Alex Garland’s feature directorial debut Ex Machina, a sci-fi drama starring Oscar Isaac, Domhnall Gleeson and Alicia Vikander, arrived in the UK at number six on $1.6m from 443 and opened in South Korea at number eight on $411,000 from 171. The weekend delivered $2m overall.

The international roll-out will take place in the coming months, with Spain set for February 27 and Australia March 5. Ex Machina debuts in the US via A24 on April 10.

The Boy Next Door opened in six smaller territories day-and-date with North America and generated $560,000.

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Mortdecai, which opened poorly in North America at the weekend, grossed $5.3m in its first 33 markets led by a $1.2m number four launch in Germany from 487 screens. The caper debuted in France in fourth place on $800,000 from 399. It opens this week in Australia.

Keanu Reeves starrer John Wick added $1.9m from 19 for $33.2m and opened in Italy on $907,000 from 223. There was also a soft $686,000 South Korean debut from 307. France remains the lead market on $3.2m.

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Annie grossed $3.9m from 29 territories as the running total climbed to $26.5m – Sony accounting for $21.2m and Village Roadshow $5.3m.

The musical arrived in Japan at number two on $1.8m from 508 screens and in Mexico at number three on $700,000 from 479. The Philippines produced $210,000 from 96.

Annie debuts in Spain this week, followed by Brazil on February 12 and France on February 25.

Fury added $2m from 15 as the running total climbed to $122.6m overall, of which Sony markets account for $77.7m while the $44.9m balance comes from the film’s financier and international sales agent QED International.

The Brad Pitt war film arrived in Peru at number four on $185,000 from 88 and in third place in Chile on $180,000 from 56. Mexico added $425,000 in the fourth session for $5.2m and Venezuela $220,000 in the third for $1.3m. Fury opens in Brazil on February 5.

The Wedding Ringer grossed $1.1m from 19 to reach $1.6m and opened in Australia on $775,000. It arrives in Russia on February 12 and the UK on February 20.

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The Gambler opened in seven markets led by the UK and Russia and took $1.3m overall to boost the tally to $3.2n. The drama opens in Australia on February 5.