The Meg is off to a surprisingly strong start after opening to $4 million domestic in Thursday night previews.

The Jason Statham film that sees the action star take on the titular Megalodon is on track to take the top spot at the domestic box office this weekend with an estimated low to mid-$20 million range, overtaking Mission: Impossible -- Fallout and Christopher Robin.

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The Warner Bros./China Gravity co-production has out-performed other Chinese-financed Hollywood co-productions from earlier this year including Pacific Rim Uprising which opened to $2.35 million in Thursday night previews in March and Skyscraper which opened to $1.95 million in Thursday night previews last month.

Acknowledging its patently ridiculous premise in its promotional campaign, the film has already outpaced the Pacific Rim sequel and previous Hollywood shark film, 2016's The Shallows, in advance ticket sales. With a reported production budget of $130 million, the film is expected to perform even stronger in China where it opens in tandem with North America this weekend.

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Out in theaters everywhere, director Jon Turteltaub’s The Meg stars Jason Statham, Li Bingbing, Masi Oka, Cliff Curtis, Page Kennedy, Ruby Rose, Winston Chao, and Rainn Wilson.

(via Deadline)