At a time when China’s impact on the box office performance of Hollywood films has become negligible — mainly because of sanctions and a burgeoning local industry — Meg 2: The Trench is an anomaly. Granted, it’s a Chinese co-production, but even though the surprise sequel to the hit 2018 film The Meg didn’t make much of an impact at the domestic box office this past weekend, it’s doing exceedingly well in the Middle Kingdom. So well, in fact, that it has already passed the $150 million mark at the worldwide box office even before its second weekend in theaters.

Warner Bros. released the film alongside Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, and only two weeks after the blockbusters Barbie and Oppenheimer. Meg 2 has since grossed $37 million at the domestic box office, and has made $115 million from international territories, for a running global haul of $152 million. To this worldwide total, China has contributed $53 million, making it the film’s most lucrative territory. There’s precedent here. The first film made a staggering $153 million in China, which was actually slightly higher than the $145 million that it made in the U.S. before tapping out. Globally, the first film finished its theatrical run with $530 million.

But a lot has changed since 2018. The pandemic didn’t merely alter how movies are produced and consumed, but it made the world’s biggest film market, China, practically inaccessible for foreign titles. And this was after Hollywood studios spent a solid decade trying to appease Chinese audiences by casting popular local talent in big franchises such as Transformers and Star Wars. The first Meg featured, for instance, Li Bingbing in a supporting role. After a string of subpar performances by Hollywood titles in China — Jurassic World Dominion, Fast X and Avatar: The Way of Water remain the outliers — Meg 2 has actually surpassed its predecessor’s opening in the Middle Kingdom.

Despite Mixed Reviews, the Franchise Is Swimming Along

Based on the book series by author Steve Alten, The Meg was directed by Jon Turteltaub — a filmmaker with proven franchise experience. Meg 2, on the other hand, has been helmed by Ben Wheatley, the director of oddball British titles such as High-Rise, Sightseers and Kill List. Starring Jason Statham in the central role once again, Meg 2 received mixed reviews from critics, and is currently sitting at a “rotten” 28% score on aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes — lower than the first film’s 46% score. Crumpa’s Marco Vito Oddo wrote in his review that instead of leaning into the camp elements of its story, the film “insists on tiresome action that takes itself too seriously.” Despite the mixed reviews, however, Wheatley told Total Film that he’s excited to return for a sequel. Meg 2 also stars Wu Jing, Shuya Sophia Cai, Page Kennedy, Sergio Peris-Mencheta, Skyler Samuels, Cliff Curtis and others. You can watch our interview with producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura here, and stay tuned to Crumpa for more updates.