Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema took a huge risk when they sunk between $130 million and $180 million into The Meg, an adaptation of Steve Alten’s Meg: A Novel of Deep Terror, but that gamble has paid off with the filming hitting $500 million at the worldwide box office this weekend.
The film, which pits Jason Statham against a prehistoric Megaladon shark, has earned $137.1 million domestically, with a further $368.2 million from the international markets, including $152.8 million in China.
So, who’s up for a sequel then?
SEE ALSO: The Meg director talks gory, R-rated cut that will never be seen
A deep-sea submersible—part of an international undersea observation program—has been attacked by a massive creature, previously thought to be extinct, and now lies disabled at the bottom of the deepest trench in the Pacific…with its crew trapped inside. With time running out, expert deep sea rescue diver Jonas Taylor (Jason Statham) is recruited by a visionary Chinese oceanographer (Winston Chao), against the wishes of his daughter Suyin (Li Bingbing), to save the crew—and the ocean itself—from this unstoppable threat: a pre-historic 75-foot-long shark known as the Megalodon. What no one could have imagined is that, years before, Taylor had encountered this same terrifying creature. Now, teamed with Suyin, he must confront his fears and risk his own life to save everyone trapped below…bringing him face to face once more with the greatest and largest predator of all time.
The Meg features a cast that includes Jason Statham, Li Bingbing, Wintson Chao, Cliff Curtis, Rainn Wilson, Ruby Rose, Robert Taylor, Masi Oka, Jessica McNamee, Page Kennedy, Olafur Darri Olafsson and Sophia Shuya Cai.