‘Fifty Shades’ Dominant With $285M WW; ‘La La’ Lands $200M+ Overseas; ‘XXX’ Tops In China – International Box Office

UPDATE, WRITETHRU, Wednesday AM PT, with actuals: Holdovers were the main attraction at the international box office this weekend as Universal Pictures’ Fifty Shades Darker maintained its grip on the No. 1 spot with a better-than-projected $44.5M in 59 markets. That’s a 51% drop from last week when the sequel cuffed 2017’s biggest offshore debut — it’s also a better hold than Fifty Shades Of Grey had in its first-to-second outing in 2015. The original film opened smack astride Valentine’s weekend that year and took nine days to pass $300M global. This less-frontloaded pic is currently at $284.5M worldwide through Monday and $193M overseas.

(Because of the Presidents Day holiday in the U.S., some actuals only came in late Tuesday. All films reporting have been updated below, however we do not yet have Sony or Paramount.)

The James Foley-helmed erotic noir saw hot-and-heavy midweek Valentine’s Day play on Tuesday. During the lovers’ holiday, Christian and Ana thrust $20M into overseas tills, dominating box office in all release markets and doubling the Monday haul. The pair will rope new milestones this week.

This weekend overall was down 30% across the Top 10 from last week which included a big bang for XXX: Return Of Xander Cage in China. The Vin Diesel-starrer has now held the No. 1 slot there for the 2nd session in a row with an extremely good cume of $134.3M. The offshore total is $263.8M.

Versus last year, when Deadpool was running rampant round the globe and China’s The Mermaid was setting records, the frame is down just 17%. There were comparatively more double-digit grossers in the Top 10 this week, including Warner Bros’ The Lego Batman Movie ($21.5M) which benefited from kids holidays in Europe to build a $72.1M international cume to date. A pair of Lionsgate pics also scored eight figures: La La Land ($32.3M) has tapped its way past the $200M international mark thanks in part to a jazzy run in China where it has grossed $24.5M in six days; and John Wick: Chapter 2 ($15.8M) is picking off the lifetimes of the previous film in various markets.

Universal also has three other titles in the Top 10 with The Great Wall climbing a further $18.7M ($245.7M intl cume), neck-and-neck with Sing‘s $19.1M weekend off of a No. 2 Middle Kingdom start that lifts the overseas total to $264M through Monday. The studio’s Split is meanwhile nearing $200M worldwide.

The coming frame has no major wide releases as the world waits for Wolverine. Fox’s Logan begins rollout on March 1 after premiering at the Berlin Film Festival this past Friday. In the meantime, it will be the war of the video-game franchises in China as Resident Evil: The Final Chapter faces off with Assassin’s Creed beginning February 24.

Breakdowns on all films reporting and a look at new local titles have been updated below:

NEW
A CURE FOR WELLNESS

Fox/New Regency’s psychological horror pic kicked off its overseas run with $4.4M on 2,723 screens in 36 markets. The Dane DeHaan-starrer from director Gore Verbinski had its best start in Korea with $920K, followed by France at No. 10 with $862K. The beautifully shot film is faring poorly in its domestic start at $4.2M for the three-day and is facing an uphill battle in light of critical and audience response. It has many majors to come including the UK, Germany and Mexico next weekend. This is a German co-production with Studio Babelsberg.

HOLDOVERS/EXPANSIONS
FIFTY SHADES DARKER

Refusing to submit in its 2nd offshore frame, Universal Pictures’ sequel to 2015 smash Fifty Shades of Grey collared $44.5M in 59 markets this weekend to land it atop the international box office. The overseas total is $193M through Monday and worldwide it’s tied up $284.5M on its way to further milestones this week.

The frame-to-frame drop was 51% versus Fifty Shades Of Grey’s 59.5% in 2015. In the case of the earlier film, the Valentine’s Day holiday fell over the first weekend while this time around it came after the initial launch. On Tuesday last week, the erotic book-to-screen transfer whipped up $20M overseas to dominate all release markets and double Monday’s haul.

During this session in the play room, No. 1s were maintained in Germany, Austria, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, South Africa, Sweden, Israel, Norway, Croatia, Chile, Portugal, Spain, Brazil, Panama, Paraguay, Trinidad, Uruguay, Venezuela and Hong Kong.

Germany, which was ultimately the No. 2 market on Grey, led this frame and has roped in $21.2M to date. The fall-off was just 29% from bow. Stars Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan, and author EL James, attended a red carpet event in Hamburg ahead of the offshore opening; in 2015, Grey had a slot at the Berlin Film Festival.

The UK, Christian and Ana’s most ardent fan last time around, slipped to No. 2 behind Lego Batman in the sophomore sex session with a total $21.1M to date. In France, the lovers were topped by local pic Alibi.com, but dropped just 50% for $16.1M so far. Other totals include Brazil’s $14.5M, Italy’s $13.3M, Russia’s $11.1M, Australia’s $10.7M and Spain’s $9.6M. Japan is still to come, in June.

LA LA LAND

After tapping its way across the $300M mark globally this week, Lionsgate’s Best Picture Oscar frontrunner lunged across $200M at the international box office over the weekend. The offshore total in 73 markets is now $206M for $339.5M worldwide.

La La wooed moviegoers to the tune of $32.3M this frame including a six-day kick-off in China where Damien Chazelle’s romance musical is shining with $24.5M to date. The movie had a Valentine’s Day launch in the Middle Kingdom where marketing was focused on the love story. (China is not typically big on musicals but was nevertheless in a toe-tapping mood this weekend with Universal’s Sing landing the No. 2 spot for the weekend.)

Fresh off five BAFTA wins last Sunday, La La has now grossed $35M in the UK, its top offshore play. China follows with Korea in 3rd at $23.4M. (Universal is releasing in Spain where the gross is $12M.) Up this coming session, La La takes its final market bows with Denmark on the 23rd and Norway and Japan on the24th — just in time for Oscar.

XXX: RETURN OF XANDER CAGE

The Vin Diesel-starring threequel from Paramount crossed $100M in China earlier this week, after just six days in release, and has now cumed $134.3M there as it continues to churn at Middle Kingdom turnstiles.

The full weekend was $27.6M in 58 markets with $26.2M from the PROC. The offshore cume is $263.8M. In IMAX play, xXx picked up $2M in China on 377 screens for a 10-day total of $10.5M (IMAX brings Assassin’s Creed to China on 389 screens next week).

Par and Revolution’s resurrection of the eponymous government operative is the first film in the $1B slate co-financing deal between Par and China’s Shanghai Film Group and Huahua Media. Diesel’s biceps are key to the PROC perf, but so is the presence of local star Donnie Yen (Rogue One) which has given the film an extra shot in the arm. Sticking with Asia, Japan is up next week for the $85M-budgeted picture.

THE LEGO BATMAN MOVIE

With kids off from school in such majors as the UK, France and Germany, Warner Bros’ Lego Batman clicked with another $21.5M in the sophomore session. That’s from about 13K screens in 62 overseas markets. From opening last frame, the dip is just 35% to bring the offshore total to $72.1M.

The UK gave the DC hero a No. 1 this weekend with a drop of only 19% for $5.6M and $21.7M to date. The next best plays are Mexico ($1.7M/-31%/$5M cume); Germany — where school holidays are staggered throughout the country — ($1.4M/-33%/$4M); Brazil ($1.3M/-37%/$3.8M); and France ($1.15M/-22%/$3.4M). Russia has likewise grossed $3.5M through Sunday.

Up next, the Lego batmobile zooms into China on March 3, followed by Australia on March 30 and Japan on April 1.

THE GREAT WALL

Legendary and Universal’s Zhang Yimou-helmed Matt Damon-starrer finally began its domestic run this weekend with $18.1M over the three-day. Combined with the $245.7M overseas total to date, the worldwide cume sits at $267.2M through Monday. Expanding to another 21 offshore markets this frame, the weekend was $18.7M in a total 48.

In Russia, the monster fantasy opened No. 1 with $4.9M followed by Australia at No. 2 with $2.4M; the UK at No. 5 with $2.1M; and Spain at No. 2 with a very good $1.8M. The China cume is $171M. IMAX on the movie crossed $25M worldwide this frame.

Still to come are Brazil, Italy and Japan among majors on the picture that has a $150M estimated production cost and estimated $110M-$120M P&A, and which has been seen as a first major litmus test for China-U.S. co-productions.

SING

Illumination and Universal’s Sing harmonized another $19.1M in 54 territories this weekend, taking the international total to $264M through Monday and the worldwide kitty to $531M. China was a new bow this frame where the animated musical landed No. 2 with $11.9M. That’s a good start in the market that is not a huge fan of musicals and can be fickle when it comes to animation. The launch is slightly below Disney’s Moana ($12.1M) which went on to $32M at Middle Kingdom turnstiles. In holds, the UK dipped just 11% in the 4th session for a $28.2M cume, and France jumped 1% to bring the total to $17.6M. Russia and Japan are still to tune up on March 2 and 17, respectively.

JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 2

The Lionsgate sequel added another $15.8M from an expanded 64 markets in its sophomore session. The international cume has now risen to $32M. Star Keanu Reeves recently spent time on Graham Norton’s couch and the UK bow for JW2 this frame was $2.8M — up 289% versus the first film. It’s already outperformed the lifetime of the original. Other notable starts include Germany with $2.5M (+71% in local currency) and Brazil $993K (+88%). Russia is the top ex-U.S. play with $4.6M after two weeks; $2M better than the full run of the first movie. On deck are France, Belgium, Korea and Mexico this weekend. France was the No. 2 market for Reeves’ first turn as the assassin in 2014.

SPLIT

M Night Shyamalan’s psychological thriller continues its thrilling run around the globe with $8.8M this weekend — up 5% from last. The Universal/Blumhouse title has an international cume of $70.4M through Monday and is headed towards $200M global with $195.5M so far. Mexico was captive for No. 1 with $2M at 721 dates in the debut frame. Indonesia likewise opened tops with $1.2M for James McAvoy’s bald head and its dozens of personalities. Germany is the big holdover, down 38% in Week 4 for $9.2M through Sunday. The UK gross is $13.1M and Oz is now at $8.6M. There are 17 more markets to come including France, Belgium and Korea this week.

HIDDEN FIGURES

Fox’s Oscar drama grossed a strong $7.4M in 33 markets on 2,169 screens this frame including a great Australia start of $3.7M. Also launching well, the UK was worth $1.8M to best The Help by 60% and The Blindside by 9%. Holds were very good with Germany down just 9% for a $2M cume and New Zealand up by 19% for $1.28M. The offshore total is $21.4M as 15 more markets come into play including Poland, the UAE, South Africa, Sweden and Turkey.

RESIDENT EVIL: THE FINAL CHAPTER

The last installment in Sony/Screen Gems’ zombie video game franchise opened in Russia this frame with a good $4.2M on 1,747 screens. The full weekend was worth $6.9M in 57 markets for $121M to date and ahead of China’s opening next frame. Russia has been among the bigger bases for the Milla Jovovich-starring series and Sony pulled out some extra promotional stops this time around. Those include launching an AI bot bringing The Red Queen to life on local platform Telegraph with over 100K interactions. The press day was held on Valentine’s Tuesday this week with Jovovich and director Paul WS Anderson in attendance and a fan screening they introduced was hosted by social influencer, Maxim Golopolosov (10.2M followers). He had previously participated in on-set influencer activity during production.

RINGS
Par’s horror entry rounded up another $5.2M in 48 markets including four new openings for a total $40.5M to date. Argentina debuted No. 1 with $785K at 140 sites for the top Paramount horror launch ever and the No. 3 all-time horror bow. In cumes, Brazil has $6M after three frames; France is at $3.2M after three; and Mexico has made it $5.1M also after three. Australia bows this weekend.

MOANA

In her 13th weekend navigating offshore waters, Disney’s Moana reeled in $4.4M for an international cume of $328.8M and $572.3M globally. Moana sailed into Finland this frame, the final European market to release, with $300K for 2nd place behind Fifty Shades. Elsewhere in Scandinavia, Moana is holding at No. 2 in Sweden (is that what happened there Friday night?), and Norway and is in a close race for No. 1 in Denmark with local family comedy Far Til Fire. In Turkey, Moana has become Disney’s 2nd highest grossing title ever across live-action and animation. Japan will be the final bow for the Polynesian pioneer on March 10.

MANCHESTER BY THE SEA

With a $1.86M weekend following Casey Affleck and Kenneth Lonergan’s BAFTA wins last Sunday, Manchester By The Sea has now cumed $18.1M overseas. In 11 Universal territories, the frame was up 2% for $1.2M and a $9.5M cume, including a $488K bow in Italy at 140 dates. That vastly outperforms such comps as Gone Baby Gone, Whiplash, Wild and Boyhood. In the UK, Studiocanal’s weekend was $64,122, down 20%, for a rolling total of $3.74M. Elsewhere, cumes to date include $3.1M in France, $1.7M in Germany (-29% vs last frame), $1.5M in Spain (-39%) and $1.3M in Australia (-45%). Sierra/Affinity handled offshore sales on the drama and those territories currently in release have amassed $8.5M. Russia is set to open on March 23 and Japan on May 13.

MISC UPDATED CUMES/NOTEWORTHY

Jolly LLB 2 (FOX): $3.2M intl weekend (India only); $18.3M India cume
T2 Trainspotting (SNY): $2.2M intl weekend (11 markets); $20.4M intl cume
Allied (PAR): $1.1M intl weekend (14 markets); $76.8M intl cume
Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children (FOX): $1M intl weekend (2 markets); $207.9M intl cume
Moonlight (ALT): $772K (UK only opening)
The Founder (SC): $282K UK bow

NEW LOCAL

Turkish comedy Recep Ivedik 5 landed in the international Top 20 with $7.2M in six markets. A continuation of the series that began in 2008, it’s directed by Togan Gökbakar. The story follows a man (Şahan Gökbakar) trying to impress his childhood love. The original was the highest-grossing Turkish film of 2008. The 5th installment bowed No 3 in Germany this weekend. In France, comedy Alibi.com, about a man whose company creates cover-ups for its clients, grossed $6.55M at No. 1. Things go haywire when the alibi generator finds he’s unwittingly helping the father of his new girlfriend. TV host turned comedic actor/director Philippe Lacheau is behind the Studiocanal pic; his other credits include hits Babysitting and Babysitting 2. Korea’s New Trial (or Retrial) grossed $6.3M to take the lead spot. Directed by Kim Tae-yun, the movie follows a man wrongly convicted of murder and his attempt to prove his innocence after 10 years spent in prison.