‘Ready Player One’ Racing To $400M WW Box Office With $161M+ In China

UPDATE, writethru: After beginning its quest in 62 markets last weekend, Warner Bros/Village Roadshow’s Ready Player One maintained the high score at the international box office, grossing $81.7M to lead the chart this session. That sets the Steven Spielberg pic on track for $300M overseas and $400M global in the coming days. The total cumes through Sunday are $294.4M offshore with $391.3M worldwide.

Remarkable has been the play in China where this ode to VR and pop-culture has become the No. 1 Hollywood movie of 2018 with $161.3M through Sunday. It’s also far and away the top Warner Bros release ever. Propelled by fantastic Middle Kingdom reviews, the gaming culture and continued social media chatter — and juiced by the Tomb Sweeping holiday at the end of this week — RP1 dipped just 32% in the Friday-Sunday period compared to last frame’s opening. Chinese IMAX crowds have been especially eager to get to the OASIS with a virtual tie between weekends 1 & 2, and a new March record (more below).

Also notable in China, Irrfan Khan-starrer Hindi Medium, a 2017 pic that released on Wednesday, came in No. 2 with an estimated $21.6M. The performance of the relatable social comedy/drama continues a growing boom for Indian titles in China (more in local-language below).

Elsewhere, Paramount’s A Quiet Place, which announced itself at $50M+ domestically, also made noise in its offshore bow. In 40 markets, the John Krasinski-helmed horror title belted out a $21M opening. Comping in like-for-like markets, the full weekend gross is 79% above the debut of Get Out, 70% ahead of Don’t Breathe and on par with Split. Horror fans in Latin America gave the Krasinski/Emily Blunt-starrer strong starts while the UK was the biggest dollar debut at $3.6M. There are many majors to come throughout April and into the summer.

Meanwhile, the vocal stylings of Disney/Pixar’s Coco are bringing it closer to the $800M worldwide mark, now at $790.1M with continued play in Japan. Also in Japan, Fox/Chernin’s The Greatest Showman has topped $40M as the Hugh Jackman musical dances towards $250M international. But smoldering intensity won the day in Japan this weekend as Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle finally swung into its final market. The opening helped lift the worldwide cume on Sony’s smash to $950M.

Next weekend, Dwayne Johnson returns to wide international release with Warner Bros/New Line’s sci-fi monster actioner Rampage. The pic reteams the global box office star with his San Andreas director Brad Peyton and grabbed a China day-and-date release for April 13.

Breakdowns on this frame’s films above and more have been updated below.

NEW
A QUIET PLACE

From director/star John Krasinski, Paramount and Platinium Dunes, A Quiet Place debuted to $21M in 40 offshore markets this weekend, including its top play, the UK. This is a terrific start for the story of a family forced to live in silence while hiding from creatures that hunt by sound. The overseas run kicked off in about half of the international footprint with such majors as Russia, Korea, Germany, France and Spain still to release. There’s joy on Melrose as the debut weekend launched 79% ahead of Get Out, 70% above Don’t Breathe, 46% brighter than Lights Out and 14% over The Conjuring. It came in on par with last year’s Split.

The $17M budgeted pic, before P&A, is coming off of a noisy $50M+ domestic start with a 97% Rotten Tomatoes score. Overseas, the marketing campaigns were highly localized and focused on the notion of protecting your family. Themed stunt screenings were held for media, influencers, tastemakers and fans with the living in silence and rules of survival concepts front and center. The “Quiet Theater” no talking/no texting PSA ran in 60 countries while the “Be Careful Where You Step” mobile game was localized in 37 markets. Digital influencer programs also challenged folks to spend a day in silence.

Real-life couple Krasinski and Emily Blunt also did their bit in the UK, charming audiences with a sit-down on Graham Norton’s couch last weekend to talk up the film. That was the biggest offshore market for A Quiet Place at $3.6M on 526 screens for 83% above Don’t Breathe and 66% above Lights Out.

In Latin America, which leans into horror, the movie is the first of the genre to receive the highly respected “Guarantia” label from exhibitor Cinepolis. Mexico gave A Quiet Place a No. 1 debut with $2.7M at 700 cinemas. That’s 204% above Get Out, 76% above Don’t Breathe, 24% above Lights Out and 3% above Split. Australia came in 3rd at No. 3 with $2M at 219 sites, notably topping Lights Out by 114%; Brazil bowed No. 2 with $1.9M from 464, topping Get Out by 132% and Split by 22%. Taiwan was next with $1.1M at No. 2 from 85 and 65% above Don’t Breathe, 21% above Lights Out and 5% above Get Out. It came in 14% below The Conjuring and 54% below Split.

No. 1s include Malaysia ($760K/130 cinemas), Thailand ($663K/60), UAE ($575K/48), Argentina ($463K/165) and Colombia ($394K/184).

At historical rates, Get Out finaled with $79M internationally, Split at $140M, Don’t Breathe at $68M, Lights Out with $81.6M and The Conjuring at $182M. Expect the European majors to be intrigued when the title reaches their cinemas.

HOLDOVERS/EXPANSIONS
READY PLAYER ONE

With an $87.1M sophomore session in 65 markets, Steven Spielberg’s Ready Player One is nearing $300M offshore and $400M global box office. The current cumes through Sunday are $294.4M overseas with $391.3M worldwide. The global IMAX cume is $40.6M while RealD estimates that through Sunday, 60.2% of the total box office has come from 3D ticket sales — $66.5M was generated at RealD equipped locations.

The Warner Bros/Village Roadshow spectacle is still in honeymoon phase in China where the running total is $161.3M (RMB 1B) making it WB’s biggest movie ever in the market. This weekend added $42M on about 20K screens.

The drop was just 32% which is a fantastic hold in the Middle Kingdom where it’s been spurred on by great word of mouth, an 8.9 and 9.1 on Douban and Maoyan, the gaming culture and the nostalgia. It’s still a hot topic on social media, particularly the Easter eggs throughout.

Chinese IMAX crowds have been especially eager to get to the OASIS with a virtual tie between weekends 1 & 2. The total there is $17.3M. RP1 on Saturday also became IMAX’s first March release to surpass RMB 100M in China and the first U.S. title to reach the milestone in the format there this year.

Overall, RP1 held a firm grip on the top spot offshore, dipping just 35% in the combined holdover markets (excluding China). It also opened tops in Germany, and stayed No. 1 in key hubs like France, Italy, Holland, Scandinavia, Taiwan and Hong Kong.

In Asia Pacific, the movie ranked No. 1 with a 30% drop which was helped by the Tomb Sweeping holiday that ran Thursday-Saturday. Western Europe dropped 42% and Lat Am dipped 45%.

Behind China, the weekend’s next best performers were Korea ($4.6M/888 screens/$14.2M cume); the UK ($3.24M/ 893 screens/$16.1M); France ($3.16M/713 screens/$11.4M); and Germany at open ($3.1M/866 screens).

Also notable, Hong Kong’s $4.1M running total is the 3rd best for a Spielberg title behind Jurassic Park and The Lost World. The last key market to open will be Japan on April 20.

PETER RABBIT

Bouncing out of the Easter holidays, Sony’s Peter Rabbit has added $19.2M eggs to his basket in 59 total markets. The international cume is now $160.5M for $273.8M worldwide. In the UK, the Beatrix Potter adaptation has been hare-raisingly good with a No. 1 hold for the 4th consecutive frame. That’s after it beat the opening of Ready Player One last session and as it continues to lead. The cume there is now $44.8M.

In new plays, France debuted at No. 2 with $2.5M including previews. Holds were notably strong in Belgium (+52%), Israel (+35%), Sweden (+18%), Bahrain (-5%), Qatar (-11%), South Africa (-14%), Australia (-25%), Kuwait (-27%) Portugal (-27%), Hong Kong (-29%), Finland (-30%), UAE (-30%) and Bulgaria (-31%).

Still to come are Korea and Japan in May.

PACIFIC RIM: UPRISING

In 64 offshore markets this weekend, Universal/Legendary’s Pacific Rim: Uprising added $8.4M for a $113.9M international cume. That does not include China which has risen to $98.2M. The worldwide cume with China, where the movie is released via Legendary East, is $267M.

Portugal and Hungary were new this session with the former debuting to No. 1 with $248K at 54 locations and the latter at $206K from 76 sites. Mexico was the top holdover hub at $780K from 900 for an $11.24M cume to date. Also in double digits, Russia crossed $11M today. Japan is up next weekend.

TOMB RAIDER

Warner Bros’ Tomb Raider uncovered another $4.9M in the 4th frame to bring the international cume to $207.8M and global to $262.9M. That means 79% of the business on this Alicia Vikander reboot is coming from overseas. The estimated $94M production had a quick run in China, petering out of the Top 10 in the last week with $78.2M to date. The Top 5 is rounded out by the UK ($10.4M), France ($9.1M), Russia ($7.5M) and Germany ($6.8M). Southeast Asia, where the movie was also targeted outside China, has seen grosses to date land in the $4.2M (Korea) to $4.9M (Indonesia) range.

BLACK PANTHER

During the week, Disney/Marvel’s wonder from Wakanda crossed Frozen to become the No. 10 movie of all time globally. It has now grossed $1,299.9M worldwide, so, basically $1.3B. The international cume after this weekend’s $4.5M is $634.5M. Still tearing it up in 43 offshore markets, BP had a good hold in Europe, dropping 46% across the region including just 11% in Sweden and 35% in the UK. In the latter, T’Challa has overtaken Avengers: Age Of Ultron to become the 2nd highest grossing MCU title of all time. The Top 5 markets overseas are China ($104.6M), the UK ($67.6M), Korea ($42.8M), Brazil ($36M) and France ($31.7M).

RED SPARROW
Sprouting wings in France this weekend, Fox’s Red Sparrow grossed $4.5M overall from 2,007 screens in 36 markets. The French debut was strong at $2.3M and helps lift the international cume to $91.4M. Germany continues to see a solid run at $10.5M to date. Russia is the final release and comes around on May 31.

JUMANJI: WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE

Swinging back into action, Sony’s hit family adventure update landed in Japan this weekend. This is the movie’s final market and it grossed $3.9M (including previews) from 627 screens there. That’s about on par with Night At The Museum: Secret Of The Tomb which went on to gross over $12M locally at historical rates. It importantly helps Jumanji get to another milestone. With a full $4.1M on 800 screens in 32 international markets this session, the Dwayne Johnson-starrer has now grossed $950M worldwide. Of that, the offshore cume is $546M.

COCO

Disney/Pixar’s Coco is still making music in 17 markets, including Japan which threw off $2.8M of this weekend’s $3.5M international take. The offshore cume is now $580.5M for $790.1M worldwide, putting $800M on the cards in the coming weeks — although Japan next session sees the Japanese debut of local franchise pic Detective Conan: Zero The Enforcer. Coco this session dipped 26% in Japan for a running total of $32.9M.

LOVE, SIMON

With a staggered release pattern, Fox’s teen romance blossomed to $3.2M in five markets this session. The UK and Brazil had good openings, both at No. 4 with $1.6M and $808K, respectively. Holds from Australia (-23%) and New Zealand (-17%) were strong. The early international cume is $5.4M with 10 more markets releasing in Latin America next weekend.

BLOCKERS

After getting an early start internationally last frame, Universal’s R-rated comedy notched another $3.2M this session in limited play. The overseas cume is $10.7M in 15 markets with worldwide at $32.1M. A well-received comedy, it’s being led by Australia and the UK. In the former, the drop was 30% for $5.35M through Sunday, and 39% in the latter for $4.1M so far.

The openings this session included Ukraine at No. 2 with $164K at 160 dates to top Bad Moms, The Boss and Vacation. Israel also had a laugh with $158K from 28 locations at No. 3.

The Kay Cannon-directed story of parents who try to stop their kids from losing their virginity on prom night enters Germany, another key U.S. comedy hub, next weekend. Rollout from there continues through May.

MISC UPDATED CUMES/NOTABLE

Sherlock Gnomes (PAR): $2.7M intl weekend (29 markets); $11.9M intl cume
The Greatest Showman (FOX): $2.1M intl weekend (13 markets); $247.3M intl cume
Boss Baby (UNI): $2M intl weekend (Japan only); $24.2M Japan cume
The Post (UNI): $1.3M intl weekend (10 markets); $38.4M intl UNI cume
Isle Of Dogs (FOX): $1.1M intl weekend (UK only); $5.4M UK cume
Lady Bird (UNI): $900K intl weekend (27 markets); $23.2M intl cume
Mary Magdalene (UNI): $700K intl weekend (34 markets); $9.9M intl cume
Game Night (WB): $671K Mexico opening; $38.5M intl cume
Darkest Hour (UNI): $300K intl weekend (29 markets); $90.6M intl cume $247.3M

LOCAL LANGUAGE

China’s Tomb Sweeping holiday was dominated by imported pics with Ready Player One repeating in the No. 1 slot this weekend. Perhaps more impressively, coming in next is Indian comedy/drama Hindi Medium with an estimated $21.6M debut. The opening on Wednesday for the Irrfan Khan-starrer was the best first-day for an Indian movie ever, behind only Aamir Khan’s Secret Superstar. Its weekend haul bested the bows of both Aamir Khan’s Dangal and Salman Khan’s Bajrangi Bhaijaan. While it was no doubt helped by the holiday frame, Hindi Medium also came in amid some local titles and its debut is an extension of a growing Bollywood boom in China.

The story appeals to the aspirational nature of such recent hits as Dangal and Secret Superstar, and taps into social reality and parenting. A message of pride is within the story about a couple seeking to get their daughter admitted to the best English school possible, landing them in comical situations. Irrfan Khan is also well known to Chinese audiences for such films as Life Of Pi and Jurassic World. India’s Maddock Films produced Hindi Medium which was a sleeper hit last year and won Best Film and Best Actor at the Filmfare Awards. Saket Chaudhary directs.

Meanwhile in Spain, Universal released Campeones (Champions), a comedy/drama about a basketball coach who finds salvation through a community service sentence. It hails from Oscar nominee Javier Fesser (Binta And The Great Idea) and opened No. 1 with $2.4M, growing over 180% through Saturday off strong word of mouth.