Global box office: 'Fifty Shades' storms to worldwide lead

The controversial fantasy romance "Fifty Shades of Grey" lands ahead of "Kingsman: The Secret Service" and the previous week's leader "Spongebob Squarepants: Sponge Out of Water" at the worldwide box-office for the weekend ending February 15.

The Sam Taylor-Wood adaptation of E. L. James' bestseller made back its budget six times over, a $239m take on $40m worth of funding, according to data supplied by Rentrak and BoxOfficeMojo.

With forecasts predicting a theatrical tally that exceeds $300m, "Fifty Shades of Grey" is well on the way to becoming one of the top five R-rated movies at the international box office.

In second place, the Colin Firth and Taron Egerton action comedy "Kingsman: The Secret Service" provided another book-to-film adaptation, and proof that director Matthew Vaughan's still got the magic touch after "Kick-Ass" and "X-Men: First Class."

Xu Jinglei's Czech-based Chinese romance "Somewhere Only We Know" also enjoyed success with its mixture of Mandarin and English dialogue and Prague's scenic backrop.

Global box office for the weekend ending February 15:

1. "Fifty Shades of Grey"

2. "Kingsman: The Secret Service"

3. "Spongebob Squarepants: Sponge Out of Water"

4. "Somewhere Only We Know"

5. "Jupiter Ascending"

6. "American Sniper"

7. "Big Hero 6"

8. "Taken 3"

9. "The Imitation Game"

10. "Night At The Museum: Secret of the Tomb"