At first glance, Pacific Rim had very little impact at the box office. In fact it has joined a long line of recent summer box office busts that include films like White House Down, The Lone Ranger, and even The Wolverine. But the international numbers tell a different story.

Guillermo del Toro‘s film debuted in China Wednesday and grossed an estimated $9 million at the box office. According to Deadline, that’s a new high for any Warner Brothers release and 23% bigger than for any Harry Potter film. The film also was the number one film in international markets the July 19-21st weekend. With the international numbers speaking volumes, it’s very likely that a sequel to Pacific Rim could happen.

Keeping it from spoiler territory, it should be interesting to see how del Toro or whomever takes the directors chair approaches the sequel.

Now most of the time when a film flops in the U.S., it is more than likely to be saved by the international markets. This does not guarantee that a sequel will follow, but the film did grossed $140 million in international markets, putting Pacific Rim‘s worldwide numbers at $220 million. With the $180M-$220 million price tag, however, the domestic gross, which currently stands at $88 million as of this post, could sway the decision for a sequel not to happen.

Ultimately, the decision lies in the hands of Legendary Pictures financer Thomas Tull, who would give the go-ahead for a sequel and possibly turn Pacific Rim into a franchise.

Warner Bros. underwrote 25% of the film and receives the global distribution fees.

[Source: Deadline]