Real Superheroes Beat Fake Ones: World War II Epic 'Dunkirk' Leads Global Box Office

Christopher Nolan's latest looks to beat out expectations on the domestic end with $50.5 million. On top of that, the World War II epic is bringing in $55.4 million on 10,775 screens in 46 overseas markets, which will give it a $105.9 global debut.

The U.K. is the top international territory for "Dunkirk," with an estimated $12.4 million on 1,313 screens. Korea is next, accounting for $10.3 million from 1,252 screens. Other leading territories include France ($4.9 million from 668 screens) and Australia ($4.7 million from 535 screens).

Imax is a major player in Warner Bros. and Nolan's plan for the film. $19 million of the international grosses came from 634 Imax screens in 44 markets. In the U.S., the movie got a massive Imax rollout on 402 screens, and is bringing in $11.7 million there. About three-quarters of the film was shot with Imax's extremely high-resolution 2D film cameras.

Meanwhile, "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales" is making franchise history at the international market. With an additional $5.1 million from 28 overseas territories, the movie has now earned $596.6 million internationally. That makes it the highest grossing "Pirates" movie at the overseas box office, passing 2011's "On Stranger Tides."

"Despicable Me 3" passed its own $700 million milestone at the worldwide box office this weekend. During the current frame, it should land in second behind "Dunkirk" internationally with $47.5 million from 63 territories. Over $500 million of the movie's total grosses have come from the international box office.