My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 sets record, gets $18M opening weekend

Nia Vardalos's My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 took in $18.1 million in box-office sales in North America and another $8 million internationally on its opening weekend.

The movie set a record for the largest increase in box-office sales for a sequel on an opening weekend compared to the original.

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The former Winnipegger's sequel trailed behind Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice which earned $170.1 million and Disney's Zootopia which made $23.1 million this weekend.

Vardalos's 2002 sleeper hit My Big Fat Greek Wedding earned just under $600,000 opening weekend, but it later went on to earn $368 million later in ticket sales worldwide.

After her first film's surprise success, Vardalos attempted to launch a television sitcom spin off called My Big Fat Greek Life in 2003, but it was cancelled after seven episodes. She later went on to star in films My Life in Ruins and I Hate Valentine's Day.

Vardalos was born in Winnipeg where she grew up in a Greek immigrant family.