'World War Z' Box Office Opening Weekend, Brad Pitt Film Gets Sequel [VIDEO]
Brad Pitt's latest movie, World War Z, had quite a successful debut weekend.
World War Z, which opened in theaters on June 21, grossed $66 million in U.S. theaters and $111.8 million worldwide.
With such a big opening, Paramount Pictures has even decided to make a sequel, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The movie is based on a Max Brooks novel and was initially meant to be a trilogy, but production problems put those plans on hold. The movie, which cost approximately $190 million to make, was supposed to be released in December 2012, but due to rewrites and reshoots, the movie was pushed to June. This led many to presume the movie would be unsuccessful at the boxoffice.
"The great thing about this process was that it showed what a great partner and producer Brad is," Paramount's studio vice chairman, Rob Moore, told The Hollywood Reporter on Sunday. "He made a true commitment."
Pitt's commitment paid off now that World War Z is his greatest box office opening to date. In the movie, directed by Marc Forster, Pitt plays a UN worker who is attempting to save the world from a zombie infection.
Perhaps the movie's success is also due to Pitt's extensive promotion for the film. Pitt traveled all over the world, including Germany, England, Russia and Australia to promote World War Z. He also attended the premiere in New York City, which garnered a massive crowd.
"We're not doing this small," he told The Associated Press, during the premiere on June 17. "We're going big this summer."
Still World War Z didn't manage to snag the No. 1 spot. The animated film Monsters University was at the top of the box office. The Pixar movie brought in $82 million, according to Walt Disney Studios estimates. It's Pixar's 14th consecutive No. 1 film debut.
With the successes of Monsters University and World War Z, Man Of Steel dropped had to settle for No. 3.
