‘Dunkirk’ Charts $131.5M Offshore; ‘Wolf’ Devours China; ‘Despicable 3’ Tops $822M WW + ‘Valerian’s French Bread – Intl BO

TUESDAY AM UPDATE: With actuals accounted for, there were few swings at the international box office in what was a weekend rife with holdovers — and one massive Chinese newcomer. Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk led for Hollywood at a slightly higher $45.8M versus Sunday’s $45.6M estimate. Despicable Me 3, the No. 2 studio movie offshore, also rose (by $1.8M) to bring its global cume to $822.7M. China’s Wolf Warriors 2 was the big dog with about $148M through Sunday, and an estimated $188M through Monday, spinning some much needed bite into Middle Kingdom turnstiles. Actuals on all films reporting have been updated throughout the below.

UPDATE, WRITETHRU (with Valerian & more added): Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk continued to storm the international box office this weekend, marshaling another $45.8M from 12,758 screens in 63 markets. The glowingly-reviewed war movie from Warner Bros handily navigated across the $100M overseas and $200M worldwide milestones with $131.5M and $232.8M, respectively.

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While Dunkirk is the No. 1 Hollywood movie in offshore waters, the international session was led overall by China’s Wolf Warriors 2. A massive $141.8M estimated Thursday-Sunday take in the Middle Kingdom makes it the No. 2 debut of the year there, behind only Universal’s The Fate Of The Furious. Numbers are still unofficial, but it currently looks as though Wolf 2 is among the biggest FSS openings for a Chinese movie with $125.2M across the three-day.

From director Wu Jing, who stars with Frank Grillo, Wolf Warriors 2 puts some bite into the current local blackout period. It hands-down beat the state-backed propaganda film, The Founding Of An Army, which came in at $24M for the three-day and $29.4M total (see more below in the local-language breakdowns).

Turning back to Dunkirk, Nolan’s war epic had a 38% drop from its launch session while adding majors including Germany, Mexico and Brazil. Overall Latin America figures are ahead of comps Inception and American Sniper. In the UK, Dunkirk’s No. 1 hold was just 18% off last week’s bow. The 10-day cume there is $35.2M (£27M).

The film, which was shot almost entirely using IMAX 70MM 2D cameras, added $6.1M in the format from 307 offshore screens. The international cume is $17M for $40.1M global.

Also passing a major threshold, Despicable Me 3‘s $37.9M offshore weekend brings the heist to $592.4M overseas for a global cume of $822.7M. The threequel has four markets still to release and has now passed Finding Nemo and The Lion King to become the No. 8 animated movie ever at the international box office. It should also top Despicable Me 2’s $607.7M at No. 7.

Disney’s Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales too has another notch on its belt, crossing $600M internationally for $605M offshore and $776M worldwide. And, Fox’s War For The Planet Of The Apes is still swinging in staggered rollout, crossing $100M overseas for $106.3M to date ahead of Brazil, France and Germany openings next weekend.

Next week also sees Sony’s The Dark Tower erected in Russia and some smaller markets; Atomic Blonde looks to come out swinging in Australia via Universal, and Emoji makes faces in the UK, Germany and Korea, notably.

This weekend’s numbers for Luc Besson’s Valerian And The City Of A Thousand Planets have been added, and breakdowns on the other movies above and more are now updated below.

NEW
ATOMIC BLONDE

The $30M+ graphic novel adaptation starring Charlize Theron as a kick-ass super spy got its wig on with $5.94M in a handful of offshore markets this session, led by Russia. Fully-funded and produced by Sierra/Affinity, the David Leitch-directed pic debuted at No. 4 domestically for Focus with $18.6M. Universal is handling 24 international territories which start rolling out next weekend including Australia, New Zealand, Ecuador and Venezuela. The pic shot in Germany where a premiere was held a few weeks back and that release comes August 24. Click here for a deeper look at the project’s history.

HOLDOVERS/EXPANSIONS
DUNKIRK

Christopher Nolan’s war epic added $45.8M in 63 offshore markets this frame, for a terrific drop of just 38%. The buzzed about WWII story of the rescue of over 300K soldiers from the beaches of Dunkerque now has an international cume of $131.5M and a global boatload of $232.8M.

New markets this frame included key Latin American plays in Mexico and Brazil. The former bowed to $2.1M on 1,250 screens, well ahead of Inception and on par with American Sniper. In Brazil, the launch was $1.6M on 485 to debut atop Inception, Gravity and Interstellar and on par with American Sniper. Dunkirk also had the highest IMAX opening weekend for a Christopher Nolan film there. In total, Latin America grossed $6.7M to track ahead of both Inception and American Sniper.

Markets in Europe, the Middle East and Africa saw a 27% dip with all tracking ahead of Sniper and Interstellar and on par with Inception. Germany was a new Europe play with $2.2M on 623 screens including sneaks. Despicable Me 3 continues to lead the market, followed by new local entry Ostwind 3: Aufbruch Nach Ora from Constantin. Both IMAX and 70mm were in high demand with the top grossing locations in Berlin at the Sony Center and the Zoo Palast. In total, IMAX generated $6.1M in all offshore combined, a 28% drop from opening in the holdover markets, for $17M to date in the format.

The top hold, unsurprisingly, is the UK where an 18% drop generated $10.7M on 1,338 screens. Another No. 1 performance lifts the cume to $35.2M.
Further cumes include Korea ($16.7M), France ($10M), Australia ($9.7M) and Spain ($4.7M). The next markets to open are Italy on August 31, China on September 1 and Japan on September 9.

DESPICABLE ME 3

Illumination/Universal’s Despicable Me 3 crossed $800M at the worldwide box office on Saturday with a total $822.7M through today. The offshore weekend grooved to $37.9M in 63 markets for $592.4M international. The threequel has passed Finding Nemo and The Lion King to register as the No. 8 animated movie of all time globally, and should overtake its predecessor, DM2, which is currently No. 7 at $607.7M. With four more markets to come, and Italy the only major, it’s dubious if DM3 can make it to the $1B mark worldwide but it will get up across $900M.

Korea was new this frame at No. 2 behind local pic The Battleship Island. It grossed $8.1M there for the best local Illumination debut ever, and slots into the peak summer holiday period. Japan held No. 1 again and has a $18.2M cume to date. China’s total after three sessions is $145.2M as it has held well against local competition during the blackout period. In Argentina ($22.6M cume), DM3 was No. 1 for the 5th session in a row while the UK was at No. 2 ($47M cume). Germany held No. 1 for the 4th frame with a cume of $31.6M.

WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES

With plenty of run ahead, Fox’s War For The Planet Of The Apes crossed $100M at the international box office this weekend, swinging to $106.3M in 69 markets. The frame was worth $21M on 9,433 screens. WFTPOTA bowed No. 1 in Mexico ($6.6M), Australia ($3.1M) and Indonesia ($2.28M). The UK was the top hold at $2.1M for $20.8M to date. Spain, Italy and Holland also held in the Top 3 and Russia has now cumed $10.6M. Next session adds another 14 markets including Brazil, France and Germany. China is still to be set when the blackout dust settles.

SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING

Netting another $19.7M this weekend from 11,900+ screens in 64 markets, Sony/Marvel’s reboot has an international total of $355.4M to date. Spidey swung into Spain this session with $3.5M on 700 screens for the No. 1 slot. It still has majors China and Japan on deck. Japan bows August 11 and China has been set for September 8, as the Middle Kingdom moves out of summer blackout season. The Top 5 cumes to date are Korea ($50.6M), the UK ($31.9M), Brazil ($29.7M), Mexico ($25.9M) and Australia ($18.4M).

VALERIAN AND THE CITY OF A THOUSAND PLANETS

Full breakdowns on Luc Besson’s costly sci-fi epic are difficult to come by as there are several cooks in the mix. EuropaCorp is reporting a $19.6M weekend in 33 total markets. There were 17 new hubs this session to help push the international gross to $29.5M. (ComScore has on Sunday reported a $13.7M FSS in 13 international markets for a $21.6M gross to date.)

The film was No. 1 in 6 markets: France, Hong Kong, French-speaking Switzerland, Croatia, Serbia and Slovenia; and No. 2 in 6 including Belgium, Portugal and Vietnam.

France was the key new major this session where it kicked off on Wednesday with the 2nd best launch day of the year locally (and also topped Besson’s most recent helming effort, Lucy, albeit on 355 more screens).

The full weekend was $12.2M which made it the best start of the year in dollar terms; although admissions-wise (1.3M) it came in 3rd likely owing to the higher cost of 3D tickets. Reviews have been mixed in France. The local press here has given it 3.1 out of 5 stars with audiences scoring higher at 3.9, according to AlloCiné. Ahead of the weekend, exits on the movie, which is based on a beloved French comic, were said to be very positive.

In Germany, the drop was 25% for the sophomore outing and a $7M cume.

Major hubs still to take flight include the UK, Brazil, Spain, Russia, Mexico Italy, Japan, Korea and China which is going August 25. That’s starting to look like a crowded day with Cars 3 and Baby Driver also both zooming into the Middle Kingdom as the blackout lifts.

TRANSFORMERS: THE LAST KNIGHT

With no new openings, T5 added $9.8M this session in 53 markets for an international cume of $440.1M. After launching in some key Latin American plays last frame, the Michael Bay title now has a cume of $12.4M in Mexico and $9.9M in Brazil. The final markets to release are Japan and Spain which both welcome the bots this week on August 4.

BABY DRIVER

Director Edgar Wright will be doing jury duty at the Venice Film Festival when Baby Driver rolls into Italy on September 7. For now, his action/romance is clocking numbers in 36 markets with $8.4M this frame on 3,100+ screens. The cume to date is $46.6M overseas. This session, Germany debuted to $1.2M (including previews) from 358 screens, on par with Now You See Me. Brazil launched to $1.2M (including previews) from 350 screens, 18% above Need For Speed.

Holdover hubs dipped 40% collectively. Upcoming key market releases include Mexico, Russia and Korea. China now has an August 25 date on what is looking to be a crowded weekend with Cars 3 and Valerian And The City Of A Thousand Planets also moving in then.

CARS 3

Disney/Pixar’s Lightning McQueen sped into Belgium, Finland and the Philippines this frame as international rollout continues. The weekend was worth $8.5M in 30 material markets (or 57% of the offshore footprint). The overseas cume is $122.7M for $268.7M worldwide.

In particular this weekend, Cars 3 revved up by 10% in the Netherlands; scored the 2nd best Disney/Pixar launch day ever in Finland ($400K weekend); had the 2nd best animation opening this year in Belgium ($500K weekend); and was tops in the Philippines with $800K.

As of today, the lead markets are Mexico ($15.5M), Russia ($10.5M), Australia ($9.9M), Japan ($9.8M) and Brazil ($9.7M). France is on deck this week.

THE MUMMY
Unwrapping in Japan, Universal’s The Mummy unearthed $3.7M there to land No. 2 and score bigger than recent Tom Cruise titles Edge Of Tomorrow, Oblivion and Jack Reacher. The full weekend was $4.1M in 49 markets. Play is essentially done in most hubs with the Top 5 breaking down thusly: China ($91.5M), Korea ($27.6M), Russia ($16.9M), Brazil ($14.2M) and Mexico ($13M). The offshore total is $317.9M for $397.6M worldwide.

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MEN TELL NO TALES

Crossing $600M international this session, Pirates 5 has now become the 3rd highest grossing movie of 2017 in Europe ($200M+). The overseas total is now $605M thanks to an additional $3.5M in the current frame. Globally, the Johnny Depp-starrer has $776M in gold bullion. The Netherlands saw a 2% bump this session while Germany fell just 22%. Notably, the Japanese market — typically strong for the franchise — dipped 33% in its 5th frame and now has a $48.3M cume. That’s the No. 2 play behind China ($172.3M) and ahead of Russia ($40.7M), Germany ($30.6M) and France ($28.5M).

MISC UPDATED CUMES/NOTABLE

NEW — Girls Trip (UNI): $2.1M intl weekend ($2M in UK only — No. 6 opening, above Bad Moms, Trainwreck)
Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie (FOX): $3.86M intl weekend (11 markets); $14.6M intl cume
Baywatch (PAR): $1.8M intl weekend (36 markets); $115.6M intl cume
Wonder Woman (WB): $1M intl weekend (41 markets); $393.4M intl cume
The Beguiled (UNI): $614K intl weekend (15 markets – $350K Russia for Sofia Coppola best); $4.26M intl cume

LOCAL-LANGUAGE
CHINA

Wolf Warrior(s) 2 is the sequel to 2015’s actioner Wolf Warrior which grossed about $87M at home that year. Wu Jing directs and stars in the sequel with Celina Jade, Hans Zhang and Kingdom’s Frank Grillo. Released on Thursday, it tallied an estimated $141.8M in the four-day session while comScore has it at $125.2M for the weekend. It’s the 2nd biggest debut of the year behind The Fate Of The Furious, and appears to be edging out 2016’s The Mermaid for the three-day. That film, which went on to be China’s top film of all time with $527M, bowed on a Monday during the February blackout last year. It took $152.8M (at historical rates) in the first four days and then had an FSS of $122.3M.

Response from critics and audiences has been higher than on the original Wolf Warrior. On Douban, the story of a commando who heads to Africa to rescue Chinese nationals is at 7.5 versus the previous film’s 6.8. On Mtime, it’s at 7.4 versus 7, per communist party-leaning Global Times which bills it as “an exciting action film” that’s also “heavily patriotic.” The paper says it grossed RMB 306.7M ($45.5M) on Saturday to score the second highest single-day take ever for a domestic film and the sixth for any film at the mainland box office. Indeed, grosses rose throughout the weekend play.

Notably, WW2 opened opposite The Founding Of An Army, a state-backed propaganda movie that employed some 50 Chinese pop idols — many of whom are known as “fresh meat.” That movie has met with criticism for shoehorning the young talent into a historical feature. It’s directed by Infernal Affairs’ Andrew Lau. Its estimated gross this weekend is about $29.4M including Thursday. Both films fall just ahead of the 90th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Liberation Army of China on August 1.

KOREA

The Battleship Island from Ryoo Seung-wan (The Berlin File) is an action drama set during the Japanese colonial era when roughly 400 Koreans were forced onto Battleship Island (Hashima Island) to mine for coal and attempted to escape. This is one of the biggest local releases of the year and grossed $22.5M at open. According to local reports, it set a new record for an opening day on July 26 with more than 970K admissions or 71.4% of all ticket sales. That topped The Mummy which previously held the record. The last Korean film to hold the title was 2016’s zombie smash Train To Busan.

INDIA

Ahead of next week’s release of Shah Rukh Khan-starrer Jab Harry Met Sejal, Sony Pictures Networks India’s Mubarakan debuted to No. 1 with $3.9M on 2,450 screens. It also opened in another 5 international markets for a total $4.4M. Arjun Kapoor plays dual roles as identical twin brothers in the family comedy.