Strong Frame For Fox, Eastwood, Local Pics At International Box Office: Update

2ND UPDATE, TUESDAY 3:21 AM PT: Actuals have been reported from most of the studios, with very few discrepancies amongst the major titles. The Top 5 remain the same as projected on Sunday, save for a tie-break between Exodus: Gods And Kings and China’s Miss Granny with the latter landing at No. 4 and the former at No. 5 on the international chart. There are also more markets reporting on The Imitation Game which added $6.6M for a $41.8M cume.

Figures have been updated throughout the below for those films as well as: Night At The Museum: Secret Of The Tomb, Taken 3, The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies, Penguins Of Madagascar, Big Hero 6, Seventh Son, Into The Woods, Ouija, Honig Im Kopf, Unbroken, The Theory Of Everything, American Sniper, Dumb And Dumber To, Let’s Be Cops, The Water Diviner, Boyhood, Horrible Bosses 2, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1, Birdman and Gone Girl.

1ST UPDATE, 4:15 PM PT: Box office this week was down about 14% from last weekend across the Top 10 studio releases internationally, but it was up against last year. At the time, Despicable Me 2 had just bowed in China while Frozen was closing in on $700M global and The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug was fired up with $566M in offshore gold, that’s about a $20M discrepancy with this year’s Five Armies which has had to battle currency devaluations in some key markets.

The top movies this week were led by Night At The Museum: Secret Of The Tomb, thanks to its $46M cume, lifted by a $26.7M start in China. Taken 3 and The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies followed, with Exodus: Gods And Kings conceding 4th place to Miss Granny, the remake of a hit 2014 Korean movie that opened in the Middle Kingdom this week. Miss Granny had a $15M frame and Moses etched $14.7M. Other local-language movies on the chart this weekend include repeat appearances by Korea’s Ode To My Father, China’s The Taking Of Tiger Mountain and Germany’s Honig Im Kopf.

As some of late-2014’s wide studio releases begin to wind down, new Hollywood titles are beginning to roll out slowly. China dates also loom for Five Armies, Unbroken and The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1, while major day-and-date titles crop up in February with Jupiter Ascending and Fifty Shades Of Grey.

In the meantime, next weekend sees the arrival of Michael Mann’s Blackhat in about 20 markets, notably Malaysia and elsewhere in Southeast Asia. The cybercrime subject matter couldn’t be more timely and this is Mann’s first directorial feature since 2009’s Public Enemies whose international gross outperformed domestic by about $20M. Other new entries include Reese Witherspoon in Wild which goes to key European and Latin American markets including the UK, France, Germany and Brazil. In expansions, Taken 3 takes on Russia, Spain and others; Unbroken also travels to Russia, and to Germany; American Sniper targets the UK, among others; and Into The Woods notably makes music in Malaysia and Argentina.

See below the original post for key market round-ups.

PREVIOUS, 12:18 PM PT: Fox had a fine frame at the international box office, nabbing three of the Top 5 studio slots with Night At The Museum: Secret Of The Tomb, Taken 3 and Exodus: Gods And Kings. Other highlights include Disney’s Big Hero 6 which is having a strong run in Aisa; and Clint Eastwood’s record-setting American Sniper in Italy. In specialty fare, The Imitation Game got a BAFTA boost in the UK, taking only a miniscule drop in its 9th week. Below is a rundown of the major studio releases ringing up box office at offshore tills. With no major new titles in the marketplace, all the below are holdovers. I’ll be back with more on local movies a bit later.

Fox’s Night At The Museum: Secret Of The Tomb unearthed $26.72M in its first China week. The final installment of the franchise opened in the Middle Kingdom last Sunday and played on 3,887 screens reaching the No. 1 spot and outpacing the last Night At The Museum by 287%. In total, Secret Of The Tomb dug up $46M from 11,564 screens in 66 markets. The international cume is now $148.4M. Russia also opened this frame with $6.1M on 1,690 screens for a 188% increase on its predecessor. Shawn Levy’s Museum also opened its doors in the Philippines ($781K from 151) and Argentina ($820K from 160). The Mexico cume is now $14M and in the UK, the threequel has taken $16.8M to date. Korea bows next frame.

Special skills were the order of the day on 4,745 screens in 38 markets as Taken 3 earned $41M — just north of its record domestic bow. After two frames, the international cume is $52.1M. Olivier Megaton’s take on the third installment in the Liam Neeson franchise opened No. 1 in the UK ($10.53M from 800) and Australia ($4.9M from 287). Taken 3 also delivered No. 1s in Southeast Asian markets like Taiwan ($1.9M from 165), Malaysia ($1.7M from 282), Singapore ($1.49M from 57) and Thailand ($946K from 188). Those territories along with Japan, Puerto Rico and India all well outperformed the previous installments. Notably, the Malaysian open was 200% bigger than Taken 2.

In holdovers, the Fox release earned $3.17M in Korea where it is the top non-local title with a cume of $12.85M. Hong Kong kept its No. 1 slot in week 2 with $490K from 77. Both those markets are still outpacing Taken 2 after 11 days of release. In non-Fox markets, the tally is $8.6M. Russia, Spain and Holland open next weekend.

The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies entrenched for another $21.1M in 65 markets this frame. The international total is now $545.1M with China yet to go on January 23. Germany remains the top play for this last Middle Earth instalment with $74.4M after five weekends.

Exodus: Gods And Kings whipped up another $14.7M from 7,728 screens in 60 markets with the overseas cume now at $168M. The Ridley Scott epic is playing particularly well in 3D. In Russia, it’s No. 2 with a 2nd frame of $3.17M from 1,802 dates for a $15.36M cume. In Brazil, the 3rd frame delivered a fantastic $2.52M from 820. The $18.16M cume there includes 70% of takings from 3D screens. There were also excellent openings in Peru ($782K from 117) and Venezuela ($734K from 56) in a week where it was revealed that the film will get a Moroccan release after a few tweaks to appease the local censors. Exodus enters Italy next frame.

Big Hero 6 has become the 8th Walt Disney Animation Studios’ title to cross the $400M threshold at the global box office, with $214M domestically and $194.6M internationally for a total $408.96M. It added $13.4M in 54 markets this frame. The Japanese elements of the Don Hall and Chris Williams-directed movie still paying off in droves. Big Hero 6 is the No. 1 movie for the 2nd frame in a row and has become the 2nd highest grossing Disney Animation release in Japan with $44.4M, behind only Frozen. It has also been the top Western release in Japan for four weeks. As with Frozen, it’s the film’s best overseas territory, followed by Russia ($20.2M).

Australia also saw an excellent hold with a 31% drop and a cume of $11.9M. After two weeks in Taiwan, Big Hero 6 has already surpassed the lifetime cumes of Tangled, Wreck-It Ralph and Brave. In Italy, it is now the highest grossing animated release of 2014. Key upcoming openings include Korea and Germany on January 22, the UK on January 30, France on February 11 and China on February 28.

Penguins Of Madagascar crossed the $200M international box office threshold this weekend with a total now of $209.4M. The frame was worth $9.7M on 7,554 screens in 50 markets. Korea, where CJ is releasing, was tops with $2.4M from 524 for an $9.4M cume. The biggest market still in release is Mexico with $18.4M. The Penguins waddle into Brazil next weekend.

Universal’s Seventh Son added $8.M at 3,117 dates in 34 territories for a total of $35.75M as it rolls out over several months. The fantasy pic that stars Kit Harrington, Julianne Moore and Alicia Vikander was No. 1 in its openings in the Philippines, Bulgaria, Egypt, the Middle East and the UAE. After bowing last week at No. 1 in Russia, the Sergey Bodrov-helmed movie has grossed $15M in 11 days.

Disney’s Into The Woods, which is on a slow release pattern overseas, opened in the UK and Australia, along with Croatia, Slovenia and New Zealand this weekend. It added $7.6M in fairy tale findings for its biggest international weekend thus far. The offshore total is now $15.2M with a global cume of $120.57M. The best ex-U.S. play for the Stephen Sondheim adaptation is the UK with $3.8M. That would put it at No. 3 behind the weekend winner, Taken 3, and The Theory Of Everything. However, the Friday-Saturday saw a 130% jump. Australia opened to $3M, besting director Rob Marshall’s Oscar-winner Chicago. Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam open next week with more key dates continuing into early April.

Warner Bros’ local German title Honig Im Kopf continues to make hay. In Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, the 3rd frame is estimated at $6.9M on 873 screens. The cume to date for the Til Schweiger pic is an outstanding $30.4M. The drama was again No. 1 in Germany with $5.9M and 515K admissions on 742 screens this weekend.

With nine BAFTA nominations last week, The Imitation Game continues its run in the UK with a $321K take this weekend. The drop off was only 14% this frame meaning the BAFTA nods are likely to have caused a bump. The cume is now $23.3M. The film added the Netherlands, Greece, Israel and Middle East this frame for a $6.6M weekend internationally. The overseas cume is $41.8M. The film has been besting comps like The King’s Speech and Philomena in most markets. Along with the UK, it’s doing very well in Australia where the cume is $7.2M after its 2nd weekend. Elsewhere, Italy’s cume is $4.74M and Spain’s is $2.02M.

Hot off her audience with the pope — and despite a snub at the BAFTA nominations — Anjelina Jolie’s Unbroken persevered to a further $5.5M from 1,688 dates in 24 territories this weekend. That brings the early international total to $13.75M. In France, it was a No. 2 with $1.5M at a relatively small 321 dates. The opening fell in behind local hit La Famille Bélier which has now been atop the box office for several weeks. Cinemagoing in France this week — notably in Paris — will have been dented given the terrorist attacks in the capital which kept the country on edge from Wednesday morning (the day new movies open) through to unity rallies all over the hexagon this weekend.

In Korea, Unbroken opened to $1.4M at 297 dates, a small release but with a dollar figure lower than one might expect given the emotional elements of the film which tend to resonate with this territory. Still, there’s a lot of local competition in the market and it’s expected to play during the week with a slightly older crowd. Sweden had a very good opening at No. 4 with $369K at 111 dates; Portugal was No. 1 with $205K at 53 dates; and Belgium and French-speaking Switzerland are currently neck-and-neck for No. 1 with The Hobbit.

Taking its time rolling out, Unbroken heads to 39 more markets in the next few months. Next weekend Louis Zamperini’s story will be told in Russia, Germany, Israel, Brazil and Australia, among others.

Backed by a No. 1 opening in Mexico, Ouija added a not-at-all scary $5.7M this frame. The Michael Bay/Jason Blum production is now playing in 14 territories and raised the international total to $33.9M. Mexico grabbed 30% of the market at open with $3M from 633 dates. Colombia was good for No. 4 with $505K at 140 dates. Universal says that Italy’s No. 4 debut ($1.3M at 212) was ahead of the bow of Horrible Bosses 2.

Among the leading BAFTA nominees, James Marsh’s The Theory Of Everything quantified a further $4.9M at 1,005 dates in 12 territories this frame to break $20M at $20.1M. In a limited release, Mexico opened to $259K at 50 dates giving it the biggest per-screen average in the market. After last weekend’s fantastic UK start, Eddie Redmayne & Co cranked out a No.3 hold with a weekend of $3.7M at 542 dates for a 10-day total of $12.1M, per Universal.

Italy embraced Clint Eastwood’s American Sniper with even wider arms this frame, moving the movie up to the No. 1 slot after a No. 2 bow last week that was nevertheless record-setting for the helmer. The Bradley Cooper-starrer from Warner Bros grossed $4.4M this frame on 492 screens. The cume is now $14.8M which bests all of Eastwood’s previous movies in the market – after just 10 days. The UK opens January 16.

Still rolling around the globe, WWII drama Fury grossed an estimated $4.2M on 1,540 screens this weekend. The overseas cume $115.6M. That’s split between Sony Pictures International Releasing with $70.7M and QED International with $44.9M. The new launches this frame included a strong No. 1 in Spain with $1.8M on 385 screens. Sony notably points out that is 42% bigger than Unbroken, directed by Fury star Brad Pitt’s wife. Venezuela opened to $300K on 25 screens. Germany’s 2nd frame added $800K for a $3.1M cume and Mexico was off 37% from its open for a $3.4M total. Brazil bows on February 5.

Fox’s Let’s Be Cops makes a return to the international chart this frame, speeding into Germany, Austria and Mexico for a $3.1M frame open on 719 screens. The overseas cume is now $48.9M.

Horrible Bosses 2 added $2.7M to its international tally this weekend from 1,256 screens in 36 territories. The cume to date is $51.4M after Italy opened to $1M on 320 screens. The bow for the sequel bested the previous film by 70%.

Dumb And Dumber To grossed $2.6M in Universal territories for an international total of $20.8M. Harry and Lloyd took their shtick Down Under with a $2.1M opening in Oz at 208 dates — the biggest ever for a Farrelly brothers movie there. New Zealand bowed to $139k at 43 dates.

With 10 BAFTA nominations this week, Fox Searchlight’s Birdman had a great UK weekend with $1.3M at 304 dates — a 29% drop. Spain opened to $829K from 247. Overall, the Alejandro G Inarritu movie earned $2.37M from 697 screens in eight markets. It now has a $7.9M cume. Birdman flies into Australia next weekend.

With the end of the holiday frame and the debut of Taken 3 in many markets, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 had a steep drop this frame with $1.9M from 47 territories. The international cume ahead of the film’s China bow is $375.9M.

Coming off two BAFTA nominations, Paddington earned an estimated $1.8M this weekend for a $49.6M cume in the UK alone. The Studiocanal picture that’s produced by David Heyman had a great run during the holidays and is among the Top 10 films of the year in Britain, with a BAFTA mention in the Oustanding British Film category. Paul King is nominated in the Adapted Screenplay race.

Although Annie opened on Friday in China, there is no word yet on its box office on over 6,000 screens — just under a third of the available real estate. Sony’s update of the classic musical grossed an estimated $1.4M on 530 screens in 19 territories. The overseas cume is now $19.4M. SPRI has $14.8M of that and Village Roadshow claims $4.6M. The UK added $900K in its 3rd frame for a $9.9M cume, its largest market to date. Annie, Sandy and the orphans next take the hard-knock life to Germany (January 15), Mexico (January 23), Japan (January 24) and Spain (January 30).

Russell Crowe’s The Water Diviner continued its strong Down Under run with $1.2M at 340 dates in Australia and New Zealand. The film, which is 2014’s biggest local pic, now has a cume of $9.73M. Of that, $9.2M is from Oz. Universal also has distribution rights in 11 European markets, where it will release later this year.

Gone Girl added another $1.2M from 792 screens in six markets this frame. Inching closer to $200M, the overseas total is now $198.7m. Italy ($647K from 262) and Japan ($371K from 320) delivered the bulk of the weekend on the David Fincher drama.

Paramount’s The Gambler remake with Mark Wahlberg played its hand in seven territories for a $583K weekend. The total to date is $955K. Mexico was the first major ex-U.S. market to open, with moviegoers anteing up $509K at 234 locations. Key upcoming markets include Germany (January 15), Russia (January 22) and the UK (January 3).

Also with five Golden Globe and five BAFTA nods, Boyhood grossed $194K at 80 dates in 16 territories for a Universal total of $20.9M.

Market round-ups

ASIA
Miss Granny, the No. 5 movie at the Korean box office in 2014, got a Chinese facelift which bowed this frame – a little less than a year since the original was released at home. The family comedy/fantasy earned $15M at the China box office this weekend, tallying $18.5M since Thursday. Directed by Leste Chen, the story centers on a 70-year-old curmudgeonly widow who magically wakes up in the body of her 20-year-old self.

Meanwhile, in Korea, where box office takings were up over 7% in 2014, while local market share fell to 49.9%, Ode To My Father is still playing gangbusters after three weeks in release. The CJ Entertainment title made another $9.5M this frame to bring the cume to $65M. The generational epic that kicks off in the 1950s is directed by Youn Jk.

Also in the region, Tsui Hark’s The Taking Of Tiger Mountain added $7.5M for a $116M cume to date. The film was released in late December and, if its takings were applied only to 2014, it would be the No. 3 local title of the year and the No. 4 overall. The 3D adventure movie was expected to do well, but has surprised some who expected the real Chinese hit of the year to be the underperforming Gone With The Bullets. After a month or so of solely local titles, China will begin to open up again for Hollywood fare.

Annie opened in the Middle Kingdom on Friday, although Sony was unable to provide numbers. Night At The Museum: Secret Of The Tomb also opened last week and earned $26.72M. It will play for the next few weeks in what is a somewhat crowded market given the local pics still playing and this week’s Kung Fu Hustle and The Unbearable Lightness of Inspector Fan, not to mention The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies on January 23.

In India, Aamir Khan’s PK has crossed the 300 crore mark with more than $51M. Newcomer Tevar, starring Arjun Kapoor and Sonakshi Sinha, opened to about 20 crore ($3.2M).

EUROPE
The tragic events in France this week had the knock-on effect of dampening box office activity. Especially in Paris, folks were not flocking to the movies once Wednesday swung around and eyes were focused on TV screens tracking the manhunt for the terrorists who killed 12 people at Charlie Hebdo‘s offices. Nevertheless, La Famille Bélier held the top spot again — the feelgood holiday release has been showing only slight drops and bested Angelina Jolie’s Unbroken in its bow this frame. Frédéric Tellier’s 1990s-set crime drama L’Affaire SK1 also made some waves this week, although final box office won’t be available until tomorrow. Raphaël Personnaz stars as a young detective in Paris’ Criminal Brigade who tracks a serial killer. Argentine hit and Oscar shortlistee Wild Tales, Reese Witherspoon-starrer Wild and The Woman In Black 2 Angel Of Death all head to France next frame.

Clint Eastwood has a particular legacy in Italy, having appeared in classic Sergio Leone westerns. The local love is palpable with the success of American Sniper. Not only did the film open last week to break an Eastwood record, this week it climbed to No. 1 and surged past the lifetimes of any Eastwood directed movie in the market with $14.8M. Warner also has a big hit on its hands in Germany with Honig Im Kopf. The Til Schweiger vehicle is now at a cume of $26.6M.

UK titles Paddington and The Woman In Black 2 Angel Of Death upped their cumes this week to a respective $120M and $7M.