LOS ANGELES:

By far the biggest film of the weekend outside North America, China’s “Hello Mr Billionaire” opened with $131 million in its home territory.

The comedy was far ahead of “Mission: Impossible — Fallout,” which earned $92 million in international markets, plus a further $61.5 million in North America, for a global total of $153.5 million.

“Billionaire” is the latest product from the team — director Yan Fei and writer Peng Damo — behind 2015 surprise hit “Goodbye My Loser.” It sees a failing soccer player challenged to spend $147 million (RMB1 billion) in a single month.

The film was released in competition with the fourth instalment in one of Chinese film’s most beloved