
TUESDAY AM UPDATE, Writethru with actuals: Scoring a hat trick at the international box office, Warner Bros’ Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them led for the 3rd frame in a row, whipping past new benchmarks this session. Newt Scamander and his errant creatures grabbed another $61.4M in 67 markets, up $1M in the Sunday finals, to take the offshore total to $424.4M. Worldwide, the Beasts have amassed $608M on their way to $700M+. There’s still a solid week ahead before the spinoff of another multi-billion-dollar franchise swoops into play when Disney unveils Lucasfilm’s Rogue One: A Star Wars Story beginning December 14 overseas.
Rogue One won’t get to China until 2017 (date TBD) and in the meantime, Fantastic Beasts was tops for the studios there this frame, lifting to a Niff-ty $72.3M. That now bests Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows 2 — the biggest Wizarding World movie ever in the market — as well as comps Maleficent and The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (it’s closing in on Desolation Of Smaug).
Dominating China, however, was Japanese juggernaut Your Name which brought a nice $41M jolt this weekend and landed No. 2 on the international chart. (Conversely, Beasts led Japan for the 2nd frame in a row with a tiny 18% dip in the slow-burn market where Potter pics have been huge.) In 3rd is Disney’s Moana with a $33.7M sophomore session, up $1.7M from Sunday’s estimate, for $59.7M after two overseas frames and as Maui baits the hook for the holidays.
Overall, the weekend was even with last frame across the Top 10 titles, and a solid 36% bigger than this time in 2015 when The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2, Spectre and The Good Dinosaur roamed the Earth.
Looking ahead, next weekend sees a whole slew of new titles flood into China which has kiboshed the typically stringent — if unofficial — December blackout rule this year. Among them, Mel Gibson’s Hacksaw Ridge and Warner Bros’ Sully (which crossed $75M intl this weekend) will find passage there. Particularly intriguing among local titles is Suddenly Seventeen, the feature directorial debut of Zhang Yimou’s daughter Zhang Mo. A romance/fantasy pic, it stars Ni Ni and bows just one week before dad’s The Great Wall makes what is anticipated to be a debut that might just be visible from space.
Also of significance, La La Land sashays into Korea. Making that the first major territory to bow offshore on the awards-season darling is a savvy move — audiences there are expected to swoon. Elsewhere, Arrival sets up base in France and, in another register, Office Christmas Party is looking to make a dash for some holiday cash in wide play. The Paramount release will be the first comedy we’ve had in a while at the international box office.
See below the original post for updated breakdowns on all films reporting; actuals updated throughout.
PREVIOUS, 9:22 AM PT: Warner Bros’ Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them and Disney’s Moana led the studio wave at the international box office this weekend as they entered their 3rd and 2nd frames, respectively. Newt Scamander and his menagerie plucked up another $61.4M in 67 markets to take the offshore total across the $400M mark to $424.4M. Globally, the Beasts have amassed $608M on their way to $700M+. China leads offshore play at $72.3M with the UK, Germany, France and Italy now claiming the David Yates-helmed pic as WB’s biggest of 2016.
Disney’s plucky Pacific Islander, meanwhile, has lifted the global cume to $179.6M after a $33.7M overseas weekend with notable openings in Russia, France and more. Strong word of mouth will steer Moana through the holiday period as she plants a pre-Christmas flag in most key majors.
France was a standout this frame with $6.4M including previews to equal Frozen (which had the benefit of a holiday Wednesday whereas Moana did not). There are some choppy waters in China which Moana nevertheless navigated well. The environment is very competitive right now with a number of Hollywood movies and in particular the arrival of animated Japanese smash Your Name this frame. That film flew to No. 1 and grossed upwards of $40M in its Middle Kingdom debut, adding to the more than $170M it’s already made in Japan and knocking Fantastic Beasts down a peg. Moana dipped 55% in the China session, but saw F-S-S increases and has cumed $21.3M to date there, besting Inside Out.
What’s more, with $420.1M overseas, Doctor Strange has now passed Deadpool offshore. Pocketing $635.4M globally, the Sorcerer Supreme also zoomed past Iron Man 2 this week. The next heroes to fall will be Suicide Squad. It bears noting that neither Deadpool nor Suicide opened in China where Doc S has amassed $110.3M.
Elsewhere, WB’s Sully crossed $75M international thanks to strong landings in France and Italy; and Par’s Jack Reacher: Never Go Back is reaching for $100M overseas with $97.4M to date after a $3M bow in Korea.
Breakdowns on the above and more have been updated below:
HOLDOVERS/EXPANSIONS
FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM
The UK held the No. 1 slot for the third week in a row with $46.3M to date and becoming Warner’s biggest title of 2016 in the market. The film bested the launch of Moana this week. Korea is the next best at $30.2M. In that market, last week’s debut title, My Annoying Brother, is at No. 1 followed by new entry Missing with Beasts in 3rd.
In other notables, Germany has grossed $23.7M and held No. 1 for the 3rd consecutive weekend. Beasts is the top movie of 2016 there for WB. Same goes for France ($21.6M) and Italy ($14.2M). Cumes elsewhere include $19.8M in Russia; $17.4M in Australia; $14.9M in Brazil; $13.1M in Mexico and $10.2M in Spain.
In IMAX, Newt Scamander’s wand has whipped up $47.4M in worldwide box office. Overseas, the total is $28.6M ($10.1M in China).
MOANA
France was the big bow with a No. 1 at $5.2M ($6.4M including previews), which is equal to Frozen. That film benefited from a Wednesday holiday whereas Moana did not. Moana also topped Russia with $5.1M. That’s the 4th best Disney Animation or Pixar opening ever. Mexico launched at No. 1 with $2.7M, just 14% behind Frozen. Spain was also No. 1 with $2M for a start that was 39% ahead of Big Hero 6.
Elsewhere in Europe, Moana opened 21% ahead of Frozen in Belgium and 15% behind that film in the Netherlands. In French-speaking Switzerland, the seafarer landed 17% behind Anna and Elsa.
In holds, China posted $5.5M for a 55% drop from last week’s launch. The market is crowded with Hollywood and local fare as well as the debut of Japanese smash Your Name. The cume there is not exactly a boatload at $21.3M, but has topped Inside Out. Also, its daily grosses, according to unofficial figures, rose from Friday-Sunday. China is currently the lead market, followed by France, Russia, Mexico and the UK.
Rollout for the family pic continues notably in Germany and Italy on December 22. Brazil, Korea and Japan will be unwrapped next year.
UNDERWORLD: BLOOD WARS
The international cume is $18.9M on the Kate Beckinsale-starrer. She’s been traveling with the film, heading to Berlin, Moscow and Mexico City.
In 10 Asian markets, the vampire death dealer grossed $5.8M to set a franchise record as the biggest opening in the region. Indonesia bowed at No. 1 with $1.3M from 200 screens. Malaysia was also tops with $915K from 300 screens. The film, directed by Anna Foerster, also ranked No. 1 in Singapore, Vietnam, and Cambodia.
Latin America’s bucket of markets also set a new record with Brazil leading at $1.4M on 639 screens, followed by Mexico at $1.3M on 1,233. Australia debuted to $1.2M on 330. And, Russia added $785K from 1,338 in the sophomore session for a $3.3M cume. Up in January are Spain and the UK.
ALLIED
Russia had a No. 2 bow with $1.7M at 794 cinemas, also besting Par’s WWII comps Bridge Of Spies (+127%) and Imitation Game (+61%). Portugal similarly topped comps with a No. 2 start of $381K at 64 locations.
On Cotillard’s home turf, Allied made $1.5M in the 2nd frame for a France gross of $4.7M to lead the pack. The UK has cumed $3.6M; Spain is at $2.5M after 10 days and Belgium has landed $500K. Germany and Australia are on deck later this month.
SULLY
Other openings included Mexico at $1M on 769 screens as the 2nd best opening ever for Eastwood behind Sniper. Germany pulled in $659K at No. 5. The top territories to date are Japan ($13.2M), Australia ($9.9M), Korea ($4.7M), Spain ($4.1M) and the UAE ($3.5M).
MISS PEREGRINE’S HOME FOR PECULIAR CHILDREN
In total, the weekend was $10.5M in 13 markets to bring the offshore cume to $185.5M after international rollout began in late September. Italy and Japan are still on deck.
TROLLS
Another $7.48M this frame lifts DreamWorks Animation’s Poppy and Branch to $165.3M internationally. Australia and New Zealand had good starts with $3.17M and $430K, respectively, each for a No. 2 slot. The 7th session on the Fox release in Germany saw a drop of just 13% for a total $8.5M. The UK leads at $28M with France currently at $18.2M.
JACK REACHER: NEVER GO BACK
DOCTOR STRANGE
In the 6th offshore frame, Disney/Marvel’s Doctor Strange conjured $4M in 51 markets. The international cume is $420.1M, putting him ahead of Deadpool and within grasp of Suicide Squad. Globally, DS’ $635.4M now tops Iron Man 2. Japan is still in the waiting room for January 27. The Benedict Cumberbatch-starrer has helped Disney to a domestic box office industry record and past the $4B offshore mark for the first time ever. The lead market (where neither Deadpool nor Suicide Squad played) is China with $110.3M. Korea follows at $41.3M with the UK ($27.9M), Russia ($22.2M) and Brazil ($21.7M) rounding out the Top 5.
ARRIVAL
The Germany hold was strong, down 20% from open for a $2.8M cume. In Spain, the drop was 28% after three frames for a $3.1M total; and Brazil also dipped 28% in the second session for $1.6M to date. Still to land in December is France, followed by Italy in January and Korea in February.
NOCTURNAL ANIMALS
The other Amy Adams-starrer in overseas play, Focus’ Tom Ford-helmed thriller continues stylishly dropping into offshore markets with seven more added this frame for a current 21 total. The weekend estimate is $1.2M for an overseas cume of $8.4M and a worldwide gross of $11.1M to date. This is a slow burn rollout which carries on through the next several months. In this week’s chapter, Spain opened to $308K at 172 locations and the Netherlands bowed No. 3 with a great $203K at 41.
MISC UPDATED CUMES/NOTEWORTHY
The Girl On The Train (UNI): $413K intl weekend (13 markets); $15.4M intl cume (UNI only), $170.5M WW (all distribs combined)
Keeping Up With The Joneses (FOX): $245K intl weekend (17 markets); $13.9M intl cume
LOCAL-LANGUAGE
After a strong start last frame, Russian war drama 28 Panfilovtsev is holding at No. 5 for Universal Pictures International. Putting another $1.2M in the tank, the total is $4.7M (300M rubles) making it one of the top local films ever in the genre. Universal’s Spanish drama La Reina De Espana has grossed $795K in 10 days locally. 1898 Los Ultimos De Filipinas is a Sony release in Spain which opened to $565K on 327 screens. The war pic set at the end of the 19th century in Luzon is directed by Salvador Calvo.
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