‘Solo’ Scruffy With $115M Overseas To Date; ‘Deadpool 2’ Retakes #1 & Nears $600M WW – International Box Office

UPDATE, WRITETRHU: Disney/Lucasfilm’s Solo: A Star Wars Story continued its very bumpy ride this weekend with a sophomore session that was worth $30.3M at the international box office. That’s a 47% drop from last weekend’s launch of the Han Solo origins story when comparing the Friday-Sunday portions. While the hold is better than average, it was also aided by a lack of new competition as other titles had stayed away, expecting a much bigger bow versus the stalled start last frame.

However, the Millennium Falcon’s engine malfunction left plenty of room for the Merc with the mouth to climb back into the No. 1 spot on the overseas charts. Fox’s Deadpool 2 grossed $41.6M this session, including a strong opening in Japan. After three frames, the offshore cume is $344M for $598.6M global. Internationally, it’s running 3% behind its predecessor.

The overseas cume on Solo is now $115.3M for $264.2M worldwide. There were some decent holds in Europe which was down an overall 34%, and Japan is still to come on June 29. But with those Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom dinos about to roar this week, young Han, Chewie and Lando are looking at a final in the $180M-$200M range internationally — and that’s nothing to write home to Corellia about.

Last weekend, we looked closely at what clipped the flying ace’s wings, revealing a mix of sentiment concerning oversaturation, calendar position, negative residual karma from Last Jedi and a laissez-faire attitude on the part of moviegoers. The holds reflect that general audiences were not rushing out to see this Story — a shame because once people are in the seats, they’re having a good time — while families may have preferred to save up for a trip to Isla Nublar next weekend.

But don’t cry a river for Disney. Marvel’s Avengers: Infinity War dropped only 26% from last weekend internationally and has grossed $356.2M in China alone. The global cume to date of $1.965B means that $2B worldwide is in the realm of the possible, whereas just two weeks ago some were skeptical given the summer crush. Solo‘s plight looks to be Thanos’ pleasure.

There were a pair of films in China that rounded out the Top 5 on the international chart this weekend after Deadpool 2, Solo and Infinity War. Japanese franchise entry Doraemon The Movie: Nobita’s Treasure Island took in $23.7M, although it was topped on Sunday by the holdover of local pic How Long Will I Love U which has now grossed $110M.

The dinosaurs and raptors won’t travel to the Middle Kingdom until June 15, but beginning on Wednesday June 6, Universal starts unveiling Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom in an initial overseas rollout of 48 markets. Those will include France, Germany, Korea, Italy, Spain, Russia and the UK.

While this sequel is not expected to reach the then-record-breaking heights of the 2015 reboot, Universal has pulled out the stops on its international campaign to prime audiences for the T-Rex — and he should find audiences hungry to sink their teeth in after the disappointing debut of Solo.

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

NEW
ADRIFT

STXinternational began rollout on Baltasar Kormakur’s sea-faring survival romance Adrift in offshore markets this weekend. The total launch was $350K from 352 locations in nine smaller markets. Major markets including Australia, Russia, the UK, Spain, France and Germany will hop on board over the next few weeks with the hope of working as counterprogramming during the World Cup. Recall that among star Shailene Woodley’s credits is fronting Fox’s The Fault In Our Stars which was one of the biggest winners of the 2014 soccer tournament.

That YA book had a massive built-in following, however, so comparisons are not exactly apples-to-apples, but it will be an interesting one to keep an eye on. Kormakur is a pro at filming on water and proved himself adept at disaster epics with 2015’s Everest. The reviews have so far been generally positive with a 71% RT score.

From RVK Studios, STXfilms, Lakeshore, Huayi Brothers and Ingenious, Adrift opened in Scandinavia with $101K from 202 locations. Norway was a No. 3 start, Sweden at No. 6 and Finland No. 4. Kormakur’s native Iceland was not in the opening suite.

Greece opened with $99K from 70 locations, which is 26% behind The Mountain Between Us, 114% ahead of The Shallows and 38% ahead of The Fault In Our Stars. Singapore was good for No. 4 with estimated $82K from 23 locations. That’s 176% ahead of The Mountain Between Us, 63% behind The Shallows and 180% ahead of Wild.

HOLDOVERS/EXPANSIONS
DEADPOOL 2

Wade Wilson rose to the top of the heap again this weekend with Fox’s Deadpool 2 taking $41.6M in 79 markets and on 15,665 screens. That motors the Merc with the mouth’s international box office total to $344M and $598.6M worldwide. The global IMAX total is $25M.

DP2 began strutting his stuff in mid-May and opened to a Fox record $176.3M. The film is currently 3% behind its predecessor in like-for-like markets. Last weekend dipped a bit more than on the first film mostly because of Solo‘s entrance, but the pic made up some ground this session. Not accounting for exchange rate shifts from 2016, the first Deadpool finaled with $420M overseas.

Overall this weekend, DP2 held the No. 1 position for the 3rd consecutive session in 14 markets including Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Taiwan and Indonesia. The Ryan Reynolds-starrer also climbed back up to No. 1 in nine others including Australia, France, Russia and the Netherlands.

Japan, which was in the Top 10 of foreign markets on the first film, opened this weekend with a strong No. 1 of $5.5M and 26% bigger than DP1. On 30 IMAX screens it was the biggest R-rated and Fox launch ever in the format for that market.

There were also great holds in the UK (-30%/$37M cume); Germany (-5%/$18.4M); and France (-29%/$17.9M). The top markets are the UK, followed by Korea ($30.5M), Australia ($22.6M), Russia ($20.2M) and Mexico ($19.1M).

SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY

Disney/Lucasfilm’s standalone spinoff of the 41-year-old epic franchise spiraled in its opening last weekend, and this weekend was somewhat surprising in its good holds with an overall drop of just 47%. Then again, there was no new competition as the majors had stayed off this date anticipating the sort of world domination that’s typical of a Star Wars movie.

The Han Solo origins story offers a good summer popcorn ride, but has struggled with a date that comes just five months after The Last Jedi angered a portion of the fandom and amid a take-it-or-leave-it attitude from audiences. Folks did not rush out to see this film which is reflected in the holds. Next session, the overriding attraction will be the dinosaurs of Isla Nublar and the thinking is that Solo ultimately gets to about $180M-$200M internationally. Not a patch on Rogue One’s $524M.

But let’s look at some weekend numbers. Solo picked up $30.3M in 54 material markets for an overseas cume of $115.3M to date and a global take of $264.2M.

Regionally, Solo dropped 34% in Europe. Along with Australia and Japan, the mature Euros are where the Star Wars movies traditionally do best. Outside of Europe, the best holds were in Venezuela (+20%) and Brazil (-11%).

The Ron Howard-directed pic maintained No. 1s for the 2nd weekend in a row in Austria, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Italy, New Zealand, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK.

China continues to be a sad state of affairs with just $14.7M after the sophomore session. It is the No. 2 market after the UK ($18.6M) with the Top 5 rounded out by Germany ($9.8M), Australia ($8.8M) and France ($7.5M). Japan is still to open on June 29.

In IMAX, the global take is now $20.5M.

AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR

In its 6th weekend of overseas play, Disney/Mavel’s Avengers: Infinity War added $24.3M in 54 international markets. There were strong holds with Latin America (where it is the No. 1 release of all time, regionally) dropping 11%, Europe (-20%) and China (-25%). Overall, it dipped 26% from last weekend. The offshore cume is now $1.322B for a global take of $1.965B meaning just $35M separates it from the $2B halo. It will lose screens next weekend owing to Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, but that movie is not opening everywhere, and it’s not going domestic for another two weeks.

Thanos and his stones front the first movie in IMAX history to reach $40M in China, topping Furious 7 ($38.9M). The IMAX global cume has now reached $142M.

In China, AIW is the top Hollywood movie for the 4th session in a row and has a cume of $356.2M to make it the No. 3 Hollywood movie ever in the market (it ends its run on June 10 locally). Outside of the Middle Kingdom, the Russo brothers’ mega ensemble dipped 50%. Regionally, the box office is $759M. In Japan, it has become the biggest MCU title ever with $33M.

In Latin America, Infinity War jumped 39% in Brazil as well as seeing bumps in Bolivia and Venezuela. And in Europe, it rose in Germany and Belgium while seeing small drops in Poland, the UK, Spain, France and the Netherlands.

Avengers: Infinity War is the biggest release in industry history in Brazil, Mexico, Central America, Bolivia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, India (western), Thailand (western), Vietnam and Mongolia.

It’s the top superhero movie in the UK, Belgium, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Macedonia, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Switzerland, UAE and Ukraine.

Here are the Top 5 markets: China ($356.2M), the UK ($94M), Korea ($92.5M), Brazil ($64.9M) and Mexico ($59.4M).

MISC UPDATED CUMES/NOTABLES

Sherlock Gnomes (PAR): $3.3M intl weekend (16 markets); $40.2M intl cume
Truth Or Dare (UNI): $2.5M intl weekend (38 markets including 3rd best horror opening ever in Israel); $45.2M intl cume
A Quiet Place (PAR): $2.4M intl weekend (28 markets); $136.5M intl cume
Peter Rabbit (SNY): $1.6M intl weekend (46 markets); $229.5M intl cume
Book Club (PAR): $1.1M intl weekend (UK only)
Blockers (UNI): $1M intl weekend (24 markets); $31.6M intl cume
Breaking In (UNI): $300K intl weekend (6 markets); $2.5M intl cume
Lady Bird (UNI): $200K intl weekend (11 markets); $28.1M intl cume
Red Sparrow (FOX): $1.3M intl weekend (Russia only); $103M intl cume

Sony had a trio of local international titles opening this weekend. They include the Japan remake of 50 First Dates. Titled 50 First Kisses, the movie opened to $1.7M from 321 screens. In Russia, A Rough Draft is a sci-fi thriller adapted from the bestselling book by Sergey Lukyanenko (Night Watch) which expanded this session. It now has a local cume of $2.7M. And in another novel adaptation, The Extraordinary Journey Of The Fakir is a comedy adventure that bowed in France with $550K on 359.