‘Black Panther’ Tops $500M Overseas, $1B WW With $67M China Bow; ‘Tomb Raider’ Kicks Off – International Box Office

UPDATE, writethru: Having crossed $1B globally on Saturday, Disney/Marvel’s Black Panther lifted its worldwide cume to $1,078.6M through Sunday. That’s coming off a $100M offshore weekend that was boosted by China’s estimated $66.5M launch. The international box office total for the Ryan Coogler superhero title is now $516.6M.

The overseas figure sees T’Challa rise on the charts to pass Captain America: The Winter Soldier, The Dark Knight, Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol 2, The Amazing Spider-Man, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and X-Men: Days Of Future Past.

In China, the start is slightly above the range most saw ahead of the weekend and reps the 4th biggest MCU and superhero opening ever in the market. The Wakanda crew sparred with and was slightly edged by last year’s Spider-Man: Homecoming which keeps the crown of No. 3 MCU/superhero bow ever.

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The Middle Kingdom bow, which includes $7.3M from IMAX screens for a March debut record, was strong and landed 122% ahead of GOTG, 55% ahead of Ant-Man, 40% above Doctor Strange and 16% mightier than Thor: Ragnarok. Still, the film may find itself hampered by a not-so-hot score on local reviews site Douban. At 6.8, it’s lower than the superhero comps, but higher than the local Monster Hunt movies. There’s also competition ahead, so the final projection here is in the $100M-$110M range. Either way, the BP phenomenon is still on track for over $600M internationally and around $1.2B or more worldwide.

Elsewhere in Asia, Warner Bros/MGM launched Tomb Raider this weekend. The Alicia Vikander-starrer knocked down $14.1M on approximately 3,425 screens in nine markets. It was the No. 1 foreign film in all its openings, including a narrow No. 2 overall in Korea. In like-for-like markets, the Roar Uthaug-directed reboot is 10% above Resident Evil: The Final Chapter, 44% above Ghost In The Shell and more than double last frame’s Red Sparrow.

Disney also began staggered release of A Wrinkle In Time, the adaptation of Madeline L’Engle’s beloved children’s book. The Ava DuVernay-helmed sci-fi family drama bowed in six material markets, tessering to $6.3M.

In Oscar halo news, Best Picture winner The Shape Of Water and Best Actress winner Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri are both closing in on $100M internationally.

And, the two big hits of the Chinese New Year crossed $500M this week as Operation Red Sea lifted to $527M, finally topping Detective Chinatown 2 which is at $520M, according to local estimates.

Breakdowns on the films above and others have been updated below.

NEW
TOMB RAIDER

Warner Bros and MGM launched the Alicia Vikander-starrer in nine Asian markets this weekend, kicking off with $14.1M on 3,425 screens. The latest adaptation of the best-selling video game franchise comes 15 years after we last saw Lara Croft, played by Angelina Jolie at the time. This outing, directed by The Wave’s Roar Uthaug, is an origin story for the heroine who sets out to solve her father’s mysterious death. Kristin Scott Thomas, Walton Goggins, Daniel Wu and Nick Frost co-star.

The second film in the original series, 2003’s Cradle Of Life, dropped markedly from the 2001 first pic, both domestically and internationally. This one, with Oscar-winner Vikander, is rolling out overseas ahead of domestic and comes at a time ripe for kick-ass female heroines. Offshore now has two in rapid release following last weekend’s opener Red Sparrow which had solid holds this session. Crowding matters, there’s another upcoming actioner (particularly destined to appeal to Asian audiences) in the form of Pacific Rim: Uprising.

Looking at comps in like-for-like markets, the Tomb Raider opening was on par with Jolie-starrer Salt, 10% ahead of Resident Evil: The Final Chapter, 44% above Ghost In The Shell, 82% bigger than the original The Hunger Games and more than double last week’s Red Sparrow and each of the Divergent movies.

The debut this weekend ranked Tomb Raider as the No. 1 film in Asia (outside China and Vietnam which open next session). Its best performance was in Korea where it was No. 2 with $2.9M on 800 screens behind local pic The Vanished which had an extra day. It dominated the Top 5 films in release in Indonesia, Taiwan, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Thailand and the Philippines.

It’s early days and next weekend will be telling. The coming session sees 45 markets added including the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Russia, Brazil, Mexico and China.

A WRINKLE IN TIME

As the first step in a staggered rollout pattern, Disney released Ava DuVernay’s adaptation of the beloved Madeline L’Engle sci-fi children’s book in just six material markets. The weekend was worth $6.3M. The start is mixed. Russia debuted with $4.1M for the No. 2 spot behind a local comedy. This was well above expectations and tied into International Women’s Day, while other markets were just OK. Here’s the thing on A Wrinkle In Time: the property is not as well-known overseas and co-star Oprah Winfrey — a key driver domestically — doesn’t have the same pull at the international box office.

The rollout has been structured to take advantage of competitive holes in the calendar. While domestic has rolling spring breaks, it’s not currently the same landscape overseas and the idea is to play into the Easter corridor, particularly as the only live-action family offering. There are no new openings next weekend. France bows March 14 followed by the UK on March 23. On March 29, Italy, Australia, Brazil and Mexico come on board.

HOLDOVERS/EXPANSIONS
BLACK PANTHER

This weekend gave Marvel its 5th title ever to cross the $1B worldwide mark, and Disney its 16th. Black Panther got to the milestone in 26 days of release, helped by a China debut that came in at $66.5M. That’s the 4th best start ever for any MCU or superhero movie in the Middle Kingdom. The debut was strong — particularly given the standalone nature of the film and that there was no local red carpet or talent visit. It came in 122% ahead of Guardians Of The Galaxy, 55% ahead of Ant-Man, 40% above Doctor Strange and 16% mightier than Thor: Ragnarok. But the film has a low-ish Douban score. At that reviews site, it’s under the superhero comps, yet above the local smash Monster Hunt movies. BP’s projected China total is in the $100M-$110M range with competition ahead in the form of both Tomb Raider and Pacific Rim: Uprising.

In IMAX in China, BP scored the best-ever March opening weekend and the best-ever opening day for March. The total was $7.3M, lifting T’Challa to $78M worldwide.

Overall, this weekend was worth $100M in 57 material offshore markets, taking the international cume to $516.6M and the global total to $1,078.6M. As we’ve previously noted, BP is expected to get to the $600M neighborhood overseas with about $1.2B worldwide. Offshore, BP has now bested Captain America: The Winter Soldier, The Dark Knight, Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol 2, The Amazing Spider-Man, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and X-Men: Days Of Future Past.

In Europe this session there was a 35% drop. Holds were tight in the UK (-17% – No. 1 for the 4th straight weekend), Belgium (-26%), Denmark (-27%), Switzerland (-28%), South Africa (-31%/No. 1), Germany (-32%), France (-35%) and Norway (-35%). Black Panther is now the 4th highest grossing MCU title across the region. Down under, he was No. 1 again in Australia and New Zealand.
Latin America dipped 44% as a region where the Wakanda warrior was No. 1 for the 4th consecutive weekend everywhere except Argentina where Disney’s own Coco regained the top spot.

China becomes the lead market on the Chadwick Boseman-starrer with $66.5M. The Top 5 is rounded out by the UK ($55.8M), Korea ($42.4M), Brazil ($29.6M) and Australia ($25.7M). For those keeping score, the total in Japan is now $8.9M.

RED SPARROW

Fox/Chernin Entertainment’s Jennifer Lawrence espionage thriller added a couple of markets this session and saw some sturdy holds in a handful that took flight last weekend. The full sophomore outing was worth $15.7M from 6,774 screens in 69 hubs. That takes the offshore cume to $51.8M (well surpassing last year’s Atomic Blonde). Germany led the frame with $2.1M for a 13% drop and as it moved into the No. 1 position. The UK dipped by just 26% for a $5.7M cume, and in Australia the drop was 28% for $4.6M so far. Taiwan is also liking the movie in the second go-round with a No. 2 hold and $4M to date.

At today’s exchange rates and in the same group of markets, the Francis Lawrence-helmed pic is 7% above The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and 2% above The Imitation Game. There are eight more markets to come including Japan at the end of this month, France in April and Russia in May.

THE SHAPE OF WATER

With $87.4M, Fox Searchlight’s Best Picture Oscar winner is well on its way to $100M at the international box office. Guillermo del Toro’s fantasy added $11.3M in 52 markets this weekend with increases in key plays as the Oscar halo kicks in. The UK bumped up by 31% for $8.86M so far; France jumped 20% to lift the cume to $6.87M in the 3rd frame; Italy spiked 84% to gross $8.18M to date — this film debuted at the Venice Film Festival in late August last year — and Japan went up 7% for a $4.36M total. Increases were also seen in Germany (+72%$3.3M cume), Brazil (+83%/$4.3M), Argentina (+34%/$1.1M), Denmark (+15%/$872K), Holland (+10%/$1.36M), Switzerland (+50%/$842K) and Peru (+40%/$607K). There are four more markets to come including China this weekend.

GAME NIGHT
The Warner Bros/New Line comedy cashed in another $5.4M from 3,490 screens in 50 international markets this weekend. The drop was a solid 37% in the holdovers for a cume of $24.7M. As is generally the case with comedy, the UK, Australia and Germany figure in the top markets. Australia leads at $4.1M after three weekends, followed by the UK with $3.7M after two, Russia with $2.4M after three and Germany at $2.1M after two. Extended release continues in April.

THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING MISSOURI

The Oscar halo extends to Fox Searchlight’s other major winner as the Frances McDormand-starrer film adds $5.3M from 4,523 screens in 45 markets. That brings the movie to $89M overseas with two more markets to come including Korea on March 15. In China, 3B expanded to 1,666 screens and added another $2.24M for $6.9M to date, again a great score for an art-house title. The UK, Spain and Brazil saw teeny drops while Germany (+40%), France (+7%), and Australia (+16%) all rose. Leading the pack, the UK is at $18.9M after nine frames.

THE GREATEST SHOWMAN
Life under the big top got bigger again this weekend with a further $5.2M for the Fox charmer in 20 markets. That takes the international total to $221.1M and includes the UK passing $50M with $50.8M and landing the No. 2 slot in its 11th weekend of release. Japan has overtaken Australia with $24.9M after four weeks. The drop in that slow-burn market was just 7%.

FIFTY SHADES FREED
Still fooling around in 61 overseas markets, Universal’s trilogy-ender cuffed $4.9M this weekend. The offshore total is now $261M with $359.4M worldwide. Japan is still to come while Germany has now put $31.6M in Christian Grey’s playroom. The UK has grossed $25M to date and France $24M.

PETER RABBIT
Sony’s animated adventure from Will Gluck collected another $4.8M in 13 markets for an offshore cume of $26.2M in early release. The updated take on Beatrix Potter’s classic starts wider rollout next weekend, just in time for Easter.

LADY BIRD
Greta Gerwig’s coming-of-age tale wafted to another $3M in 43 markets for an overseas cume of $16.2M to date. The weekend added five hubs including Sweden ($109K/23 dates/ahead of Brooklyn, Boyhood, Room, Manchester By The Sea and Perks Of Being Wallflower) and Israel ($76K/11 dates/in line with Boyhood). The UK was the top holdover play with a slight 25% drop to cume $5.36M so far. Italy saw a dip of just 18% for $1.4M to date. Russia opens next weekend.

MISC UPDATED CUMES/NOTABLES

Maze Runner: The Death Cure (FOX): $2.3M intl weekend (23 markets); $226M intl cume
Phantom Thread (UNI): $1.6M intl weekend (47 markets); $20.7M intl cume
Den Of Thieves (STX): $1.3M intl weekend (53 markets); $27.5M intl cume
I, Tonya (S/A): $1.2M intl weekend; $16.2M intl cume
Call Me By Your Name (SNY): $1.1M intl weekend (39 markets); $17.1M intl cume
Darkest Hour (UNI): $1M intl weekend (48 markets); $86.4M intl cume
Gringo (STX): $850K intl weekend debut (8 markets)
15:17 To Paris (WB): $843K intl weekend ($655K in Japan); $17.4M intl cume ($3.6M in Japan)

LOCAL-LANGUAGE

Universal acquisition I Am Losing Weight from director Aleksey Nuzhnyy grossed an outstanding $5.8M in Russia to top new opener A Wrinkle In Time and score the biggest opening day for a local title ever at $1.9M. It follows a young woman (Dukhless 2 and Viking‘s Alexandra Bortich) whose two passions are food and her boyfriend. But when he breaks up with her, she sets out to change her lifestyle, lose weight and win him back — learning valuable lessons in the process.