Bohemian Rhapsody Makes The Rockin’ World Go Round With $123M WW Weekend

UPDATE, writethru: 20th Century Fox, New Regency and GK Films execs are floating around in ecstasy today as Bohemian Rhapsody burned through the sky to a $72.5M weekend at the international box office. Combined with domestic, the frame was worth $122.5M globally, lifting the worldwide cume to $141.7M. The Queen biopic had opened early in the UK last weekend and predictably exploded with a No. 1 bow, holding that again this session. It’s now at play in 64 overseas markets where it has a total to date of $91.7M. There’s a chance it tops $100M offshore through Monday.

Fox President of International Theatrical Distribution, Andrew Cripps, tells me the wide opening in the 2nd frame overseas came in ahead of estimates. “The exciting thing is that it played everywhere, audiences everywhere responded to the movie and judging by the UK, we see tremendous playability.” The UK’s sophomore time on stage was off by just 13%, and that’s counting the fact that this weekend will have seen folks celebrating ahead of Monday’s Guy Fawkes holiday. Exits there and elsewhere have been strong with a definite recommend in the 90s.

France, where Freddie Mercury is also legend, was the top market this session with $7.7M amid strong competition and three times higher than A Star Is Born. Other highlights include No. 1 openings in over 50 markets including Mexico, Germany, Australia, Spain and the Netherlands where it was Fox’s biggest debut ever.

The Rami Malek-starrer is outpacing Murder On The Orient Express (+75%), The Greatest Showman (+166%), La La Land (+141%), and A Star Is Born (+200%) through the same point in release. There are 14 markets to go next weekend, including Japan.

In IMAX, Bohemian Rhapsody strutted to $4M from 283 screens, with 44 UK screens dropping just 25%. This is the biggest November IMAX opening in Germany, Spain, Portugal, Chile and Ecuador.

The Nutcracker and the Four Realms review — Disney

Meanwhile, in a day-and-date launch, Disney’s The Nutcracker And The Four Realms unlocked $38.5M from 45 material markets (72% of the international footprint). The global total is $58.5M, including $12M in China and a strong $5.5M in Italy. The UK, however, was soft at $2.1M. There are several majors still on deck for a film the Mouse House is hoping will draw auds through the holidays, although it will see Universal/Illumination’s The Grinch steal in next weekend.

Also from Disney, Incredibles 2 has now passed The Fate Of The Furious to become the No. 15 global release of all time with $1,238.2M.

Elsewhere, Sony’s Venom lifted its overseas cume to $342.9M with a great start in Japan. The global total is $541.6M ahead of next weekend’s China opening. And, Warner Bros’ A Star Is Born dropped just 27% to bring the international total to $128.3M with global closing in on $300M.

The coming weekend sees Universal/Illumination’s The Grinch hit a handful of offshore markets including Brazil and the UK while it also bows domestically. Yash Raj’s Thugs Of Hindustan, starring hitmaker Aamir Khan, will strike in India while Sony’s Venom sinks its teeth into China, coming off strong presales and word of mouth.

Breakdowns on this week’s films have been updated below.

NEW
THE NUTCRACKER AND THE FOUR REALMS

Disney’s $120M priced family film opened in 45 material markets this session for 72% of the overseas footprint. It did $38.5M across those, a higher number than we were seeing ahead of the weekend, but the UK was very soft at just $2.1M. Disney’s President Theatrical Distribution, Franchise Management and Business & Audience Insights, Cathleen Taff, tells me the movie “opened where we wanted it to be in most other territories.” It did $12M in China to land No. 1 and a very solid $5.5M in Italy, making it the 5th biggest opening weekend of 2018 there.

The movie, from director Lasse Hallstrom, and based on the same property as the ballet, E.T.A. Hoffmann’s 1816 short story The Nutcracker And The Mouse King, also took advantage of the All Saints Day holiday in some markets. Taff says, “The Nutcracker is part of a holiday tradition for a lot of people so we’ll look to how it plays ahead.” It’s for sure a family option, but critics have pounded it despite praising its stunning visuals, and it has Universal/Illumination’s The Grinch stealing in beginning next weekend as they both roll out over time.

As Anthony D’Alessandro has noted, even with the disappointments this year of Solo: A Star Wars Story and A Wrinkle In Time, Disney can afford to take these swings, particularly as they take over Fox which does adult fare with aplomb (see Murder On The Orient Express, The Greatest Showman and the mass appeal Bohemian Rhapsody). Upcoming, Dis has muscle and spoonfuls of sugar in store with Ralph Breaks The Internet at Thanksgiving and Mary Poppins Returns at Christmas.

Nutcracker’s Tpop 5 markets this weekend were China ($12M), Italy ($5.5M), Germany ($2.7M), Mexico ($2.3M) and Spain ($2.2M).

Key future openings include Australia, France, Japan, Korea and Russia.

HOLDOVERS/EXPANSIONS
BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY

Call him Mr Fahrenheit. Freddie Mercury/Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody is having a ball. From 20th Century Fox, GK Films and New Regency (which co-produced and co-financed), the Graham King-championed pic did $72.5M in its second offshore weekend. It had opened to No. 1 last session in the UK and held that position with just a 13% drop. The worldwide box office total is $141.7M with $91.7M from overseas. In all, there were more than 50 No. 1s this frame. The movie has a shot at topping $100M overseas tomorrow and is already outpacing Murder On The Orient Express (+75%), The Greatest Showman (+166%), La La Land (+141%) and A Star Is Born (+200%).

Bryan Singer receives directing credit on the movie despite being fired last year after going AWOL. Dexter Fletcher stepped in to finish things up. Reviews have not been kind, but audiences are lapping up the picture with strong exits and a high definite recommend.

Out of 64 markets this weekend, France led at $7.7M on 568 screens. That’s more than three times comps Murder On The Orient Express and A Star Is Born and comes despite strong local competition. The UK did another supersonic $7.4M to outpace Deadpool 2 at the same point in release with a $26.6M cume after just two frames.

Playing to audiences across all markets where it has opened, Bohemian Rhapsody came in higher in Latin America than expected, opening at No. 1 in Mexico with $5.8M on 1,815 screens and commanding 45% of the share. Brazil was worth $2.4M on 621, 62% bigger than Star Is Born.

Germany gave the band $5.7M at No. 1 and on 662. That’s the 5th biggest opening this year, ahead of Incredibles 2 and Venom. In Korea, with a big local picture in release, BR was No. 2, taking $5.7M on 838 and widely topping Star Is Born and Greatest Showman.

Australia grossed $5.4M at No. 1 from 307 for the 7th best start of 2018; Spain did the fandango to $4.8M on 465 at three times The Greatest Showman; and the Netherlands with $1.6M from 159 is Fox’s biggest opening of all time.

There are 14 markets poised to release next weekend, including Japan.

HALLOWEEN

Universal/Trancas/Miramax/Blumhouse’s reboot-sequel added $18.3M in its 3rd session to take the international cume to $79.2M and global to $229.6M. This after passing $200M on Thursday.

There were four new openings this frame, bringing the total markets to 66. Korea was tops with $671K at 385 locations for No. 5 in a competitive market. The Netherlands bowed to No. 2 behind the top start of Bohemian Rhapsody, and took $535K at 82 for 23% above Annabelle: Creation. Thailand had a $321K bow at 100 for No. 2 and tracking ahead of Don’t Breathe (+15%), Jigsaw (+53%) and The Conjuring (+56%).

In holds, Germany led, dipping just 14% after a strong start last weekend. The cume there is $8.83M. France dropped just 11% to cume $5.27M and Brazil was down just 13% for $3.11M to date, despite the fact that slasher pics tend to be softer in horror-loving Latin America.

To wit: Mexico currently leads offshore play at $11.6M. The UK is next at $10.3M. Japan releases April 12.

VENOM

Sony’s Venom bared its teeth for $15.6M overseas on 7,300+ screens in 65 markets. That pushes the international cume to $342.9M after a great No. 1 Japan start. It gnashed on $5.3M there, topping the debuts of Deadpool 2 (+17%), Ant-Man And The Wasp (+36%) and Wonder Woman (+63%,).

The global cume is currently $541.6M and this is before China comes onboard next Friday, including in IMAX. That will be the final market with great advance ticket sales and strong word of mouth. The Tom Hardy-starrer will push well past $600M global.

The Top 5 markets to date are Russia ($31.6M), Korea ($30.1M), the UK ($25.5M), Mexico ($23.8M) and France/Brazil (tied at $18.3M).

A STAR IS BORN

Singing away, Warner Bros’ A Star Is Born saw a mere 27% drop this weekend, adding $13.9M from 5,145 screens in 73 markets. The international running cume is $128.3M with $300M global around the corner as it currently stands at $293.3M.

The weekend highlights include Australia’s 3rd session, down 27% for $14M. The UK’s 5th frame was off by just 16% with a running total of $29.2M; followed by France, which dipped only 10% to cume $11.2M so far. In Italy, the 20% drop gives Bradley Cooper’s romantic opus $7.1M to date, and Brazil’s 4th session lifted it to $5.3M off an 11% drop.

The Top 5 markets are the UK ($29.2M), Australia ($14M), France ($11.2M), Germany ($8.1M) and Italy ($7.1M).

The last key market to open is Japan on December 21.

SMALLFOOT

Warner Bros’ yeti movie stepped on $12.1M this frame on 9,715 screens in 77 markets for a 31% drop. The running international cume is now $115.2M. France held in its 3rd weekend to a 15% dip on 617 screens, and had the benefit of the All Saints Day holiday in its favor. The movie has now cumed $9.9M there.

Russia’s 2nd frame was good for a 14% drop on 2,332 screens to rank No. 2 with a total to date of $7.3M. China’s 3rd outing brings the total to $9.9M and the UK added $1.4M on 650 screens for $12.8M so far. Germany saw a slight 5% slip for $3.6M to date.

The Top 5 markets are the UK ($12.8M), France ($9.9M), China ($9.9M), Australia ($9.1M) and Mexico ($9.1M).

GOOSEBUMPS 2: HAUNTED HALLOWEEN
Sony’s sequel added $9M this weekend from 6,100+ screens in 44 markets for an international cume of $38.6M. Russia debuted to $1.5M, 16% ahead of the original, while France dropped just 18% in its sophomore frame with $1.2M for a local total of $3.3M. Korea is on deck November 8.

JOHNNY ENGLISH STRIKES AGAIN

Universal/Working Title’s overseas hit targeted another $5.7M in the session for an offshore cume of $118.3M. The global total so far is $121.5M on the movie which is driven by international.

Starring Rowan Atkinson as the bumbling anti-007, the threequel opened in Brazil to $320K at 193 sites to top the previous installment by 5%. In holds, Germany was down 10% in its 3rd session with a cume of $6.8M. The UK’s 5th frame brings the cume to $21M. Up next are Japan on November 9 and China on November 23.

FIRST MAN
Universal’s Damien Chazelle-helmed Neil Armstrong biopic was fueled by another $4.7M in 50 markets for a $45M overseas cume. The total worldwide is now $87.1M. Italy, where the movie had world premiered as the opening night gala at the Venice Film Festival, debuted to $1.85M at 355 locations to track above Arrival (+24%) and Captain Phillips (+77%).

The UK has now grossed $10M after a 42% drop in weekend 4 and France is at $5.3M following its 3rd session which saw a 43% dip. Still to come are Germany, Mexico and Japan next weekend, among others.

MISC UPDATED CUMES/NOTABLE (*Denotes new)

Incredibles 2 (DIS): $1.7M intl weekend (12 markets); $630.1M intl cume
The House With A Clock In Its Walls (UNI): $1M intl weekend (13 markets); $24.7M intl cume
Night School (UNI): $700K intl weekend (21 markets); $20.3M intl cume
BlackKklansman (UNI): $700K intl weekend (20 markets); $39M intl cume
*Slaughterhouse Rulez (SNY): $520K intl weekend (UK only)
Peppermint (STX): $471K intl weekend (58 markets); $12.7M intl cume
*Nobody’s Fool (PAR): $265K intl weekend (3 markets)
Mile 22 (STX): $176K intl weekend (64 markets); $29.5M intl cume
The Happytime Murders (STX): $146K intl weekend (50 markets); $6.8M intl cume

LOCAL-LANGUAGE

Intimate Strangers, a Korea comedy/drama from director Lee Jae-kyoo, grossed $10.5M in its No. 1 local opening. The movie, a remake of 2016 Italian hit Perfect Strangers, follows a married couple who invite their close childhood friends over for a housewarming dinner. They end up playing a game where they must share all the messages and calls to their cell phones. Though it starts off lightly, hidden truths start to surface.

Sony’s 25 KM/H, a comedy about two brothers who take a cross-country road trip on a moped, debuted in Germany to $2.3M (including previews) from 465 screens. The pic is directed by Markus Goller and stars Curd Berger, Martin Brambach and Lars Eidinger.