The first Austin Powers film International Man of Mystery did relatively well at the worldwide box office. On a budget of $16,500,000 the film made $53,883,989 in the United States and a further $13,800,000 at the foreign box office. Although this is a very respectable return the studio were not convinced that the success of the film was enough to launch an entire series and initially refused to green light a sequel. The Austin Powers series may have been over and done with after only one film. Thankfully the purchase of VHS copies of the film and a high amount of rentals from video retailers like Blockbuster convinced the studio to give the sequel the go ahead on a budget of $33,000,000. The studio ended up being glad they did as The Spy Who Shagged Me made $312,016,858 worldwide at the box office and Goldmember followed this up with a total worldwide gross of $296,655,431. The second film was such a hit it made more money in its opening weekend than International Man of Mystery made during its entire run.
