Perhaps something got lost in translation because according to box office numbers, a re-release is now the best opening movie in the history of Chinese cinema. Titanic 3D broke $67 million in that particular country over the weekend which beats out 2011′s Transformers: Dark of the Moon by a gap of $12 million. This comes despite the fact that the movie made waves last week when it was reported that China would be censoring Kate Winslet’s 3D breasts due to concerns that audiences would try to grab them and thus create a distraction to fellow movie goers.
Naturally, the headline here is that the re-release is proving to be much more of a draw with international crowds then here at home as its 10-day total stands at around $45 million. Seeing how post-theatrical distribution via physical discs and network programming lags abroad this might actually make a bit more since.
Thanks in part to a strong international performance; Titanic 3D is rewriting the record books as it continues to add to its haul from the late 90′s. The feature has just become the second film to ever gross $2 billion at the global box office. James Cameron’s Avatar is the only other film to cross that mark and a $700 million gap remains between the two, so no one should expect controversy over ‘which film is truly the biggest of all time.’
Update: Post was updated to reflect official figures. Estimates originally had Titanic 3D opening to only $58 million in China as opposed to the $67 million mentioned above.