Captain Marvel Wings To $910M Global Box Office; #10 Superhero Pic Ever

UPDATE, writethru: Captain Marvel remained at the overseas helm this weekend, adding $52.1M in her third frame. The Disney/Marvel title has now grossed $588.8M at the international box office for $910.3M worldwide. The scores for Carol Danvers blast her to the No. 10 spot on the all-time superhero charts, both offshore and globally.

After topping Wonder Woman worldwide late last week, among the pics Captain Marvel passed throughout the weekend (unadjusted) are Thor: Ragnarok ($854M), Venom ($855M), Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol 2 ($864M), Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice ($874M), Spider-Man: Homecoming ($880M) and Spider-Man 3 ($891M).

Domestically, Brie Larson’s Marvel got out of the way of Universal’s Jordan Peele-directed local phenom, Us, but she remained No. 1 in nearly all offshore markets this session. Not so in China, where the film fell another 70% after sliding to No. 2 last weekend behind Taiwanese romance More Than Blue which is defying word of mouth to cume an estimated $121M after two frames. With $146.3M through Sunday, CM is still the No. 4 best MCU entry ever in the market. The $1B global milestone is expected ahead, though may not hit until after next weekend.

As for Us, which is on a staggered release pattern overseas, the scarer grossed $16.7M in 47 markets to put the global tally at $86.9M after the first weekend. The follow-up to Peele’s 2017 Oscar winner Get Out — which ultimately made about 31% of its money internationally — topped that movie by 21% in like-for-like openings. That includes outperforming the previous picture in 39 markets; notably the UK, Asia and parts of Europe. The UK, France, Spain, Germany and Indonesia were the best debuts. Majors continue to roll out across the spring with Japan in August.

Of note elsewhere, Fox’s Bohemian Rhapsody took the stage in China this weekend, grossing $6.4M. This is the biggest opening for an arthouse-released title ever in the market and brings the offshore cume to $673.2M. Middle Kingdom word of mouth is strong on the multiple Oscar winner which has $889.1M worldwide to date, putting $900M in its sights.

In other Oscar/China news, Best Picture laureate Green Book has been granted an extension to April 30 in the market where it has now grossed $68.3M. Internationally, Green Book crossed the $200M mark this week.

Also in Asia, Paramount’s Bumblebee drove into his final market with Japan bowing to $2.4M. The offshore cume on the origins story is $335.3M.

The coming weekend brings Dumbo back to theaters, this time in a live-action version helmed by Tim Burton. This is a rare-for-Disney full worldwide release that will include China and Japan in the opening suite.

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

NEW
US

Jordan Peele’s Us opened day-and-date with North America in 47 offshore markets including France, Brazil, Germany, Spain and the UK. Universal is releasing overseas with additional rollout throughout the spring (and into August in Japan). The launch weekend came in 21% higher than Peele’s Get Out in like-for-likes with $16.7M.

The film topped Get Out in 39 markets, and was atop the likewise Jason Blum-produced Happy Death Day in 35 and The First Purge in 36. Get Out became a cultural (and Oscar-winning) phenomenon in 2017, and while Us has taken domestic by storm this weekend, it is expected to play closer to a horror/slasher film abroad and as rollout continues.

The top opener was the UK with $3.67M from 583 locations at No. 2. The market is tracking above all comps including Get Out (+32%) and The First Purge (+141%). The trio of European majors that follows are: France ($1.99M/339/No. 2), Germany ($1.36M/447/No. 2) and Spain ($1.18M/308/No. 3). In the latter, it’s worth noting that Pedro Almodovar’s latest, Pain & Glory, bowed No. 1 this session.

Indonesia rounds out the Top 5 at No. 2 (Captain Marvel has a big hold on the market) and $836K from 287 locations. This is 123% above Get Out and reflects what is happening in the other Asian markets that bowed this session. Vietnam opened No. 1 with $666K at 178 for 420% above Get Out; Taiwan was worth $562K at 98 and 13% over Get Out; Hong Kong grossed $310K from 54 and 12% above Peele’s earlier film; the Philippines nabbed $286K at 195 (+276% on Get Out) and Singapore and Malaysia were likewise well above the previous title.

Latin America, which leans into horror — though not so much of the slasher variety — was led by Brazil at $769K from 339 screens and tracking ahead of Get Out by 14%. Columbia, Portugal, Argentina and Chile are also all above Get Out whose top offshore market was Korea which bows next frame on Us. Also due this week are Russia and Australia.

HOLDOVERS/EXPANSIONS
CAPTAIN MARVEL

Marvel Studios’ CAPTAIN MARVEL..L to R: Leader of Starforce (Jude Law) and Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel (Brie Larson)..Photo: Chuck Zlotnick..©Marvel Studios 2019 Disney

With another $52.1M from 54 material offshore markets, Disney/Marvel’s Captain Marvel has now grossed $588.8M at the international box office. Holding the No. 1 slot in nearly all hubs, Carol Danvers now has bragging rights to becoming the No. 10 superhero pic ever overseas. To get there, she flew past the lifetime cums of Thor: Ragnarok ($539M), Batman V Superman ($543M), Spider-Man: Homecoming ($546M) and Spider-Man 3 ($554M) this weekend.

As noted above, Captain Marvel is also the No. 10 superhero pic ever worldwide with a global cume of $910.3M through Sunday. She is expected to cross the $1B mark, though the milestone likely won’t fall until after next weekend. It’s a different demo, but Disney is releasing Dumbo next session fully day-and-date and some of the IMAX screens will shift.

Breaking down the current weekend, Captain Marvel has now grossed $146.3M in China and, despite another 70% drop, is the 4th best of all MCU titles behind Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Age Of Ultron and Captain America: Civil War as she provides a great lead-in for Avengers: Endgame at the end of April. Also notable in Asia, CM is now the No. 2 industry release ever in Indonesia with $18.5M and landing behind only Infinity War.

Europe saw a 48% dip in the third go-round and had strong holds in Spain (-40%), the Netherlands (-41%), France (-44%), Germany (-46%) and the UK (-48%). In superhero-loving Latin America, where CM stayed No. 1 across the board, the drop was a collective 51%.

Here are the Top 10 markets: China ($146.3M), Korea ($40.1M), the UK ($38.9M), Brazil ($30.6M), Mexico ($29.4M), Australia ($22.4M), France $18.5M), Indonesia ($18.5M), Russia (18.2M) and Germany ($17.8M).

GREEN BOOK

Best Picture Oscar winner Green Book crossed the $200M mark overseas this week, now with a running cume of $210.1M, greatly driven by China. In the Middle Kingdom, the film was granted an extension and will play until April 30. There, the gross to date is $68.3M.

In a combined 67 Lionsgate and Amblin markets this weekend, the Participant Media/DreamWorks pic added $8.1M. The overall split to date is $84.9M from Lionsgate markets and $125.2M from Amblin hubs.

After China, the top plays are France ($13.6M), Japan ($12.8M), Germany ($12.6M, via eOne) and the UK ($12.5M, via eOne).

BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY

Fox’s four-time Oscar winner Bohemian Rhapsody took the show to China this weekend, singing to a $6.4M start. That’s the best-ever debut for an arthouse release. Bo Rhap scored the date late last month amid reports that star Rami Malek’s Best Actor Oscar acceptance speech had been edited by local broadcaster Mango TV. The film itself faced its share of edits to comply with the local censors, although previews last weekend went well and the movie has great word of mouth with a 9.6 on Maoyan. That’s rarefied air (think: Green Book and Aquaman) and could point to strong future play. A concern, however, is how urgent a big-screen viewing may be given the lag-time ahead of the China unveiling — the curious will likely have sought it out by other means before the local release.

But China isn’t the only play Bo Rhap still has going. Overall, the Freddie Mercury biopic added $7.6M this frame in 23 markets. Japan has put an amazing $113M in the songbook and was off by only 15% this session. The offshore cume is now $673.2M for $889.1M worldwide. The $900M milestone should be ahead in the next few weeks. And that’s a lovely high note for Fox to go out on.

FIVE FEET APART

CBS Films/Lionsgate’s teenage romance is continuing a staggered offshore release as it slots into counterprogramming. In 37 markets this weekend, it did $6.2M to lift the early international cume to $6.3M. The $7M production cost pic, helmed by Jane The Virgin’s Justin Baldoni, now has a global cume of $32.8M. Italy had a strong launch at $1.7M from 361 screens while Latin America, which leans into this kind of fare, opened well. Brazil took $1.4M (including previews) to rank No. 2, sandwiched between Captain Marvel and Us. Mexico came in at No. 3 with $1.1M. Australia is next up on March 28. Korea goes in April.

THE LEGO MOVIE 2: THE SECOND PART

Warner Bros’ fourth movie in the Lego family blocked $6.2M this frame in 59 markets. The international cume is now $76.2M and the worldwide total is $179.6M. A lackluster start in China, where the films have either not played, or played low, came in at $2.3M on about 12,000 screens and amid a packed field. In Australia, the start was $1.4M from 391 screens. That was good for No. 2 and a launch that more than doubled Lego Ninjago. Awareness/nostalgia for the brand and wannasee for the movies is evident in the disparity between the top overseas market (the UK at $23.4M) and the rest of the Top 5: Germany ($4.2M), Poland ($3.5M), Mexico ($3.4M) and France ($3.4M).

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON: THE HIDDEN WORLD

With $6M this weekend, the Universal/DreamWorks Animation title has flown to a $342.3M international cume. Worldwide, Hiccup and Toothless are at $488.1M. There are 62 markets currently in play with India the newcomer this frame at No. 1 and $1.18M from 811 locations. This is the 2nd biggest opening weekend in the market for DWA behind Kung Fu Panda 3. It is also the 6th biggest opening weekend for any animation and is tracking ahead of the previous two films in the franchise. Elsewhere, China has cumed $53.9M after the 4th session. Still to come is Japan, way down the line in December.

MISC UPDATED CUMES/NOTABLE

Wonder Park (PAR): $5M intl weekend (24 markets); $10.2M intl cume
Escape Room (SNY): $3.7M intl weekend (33 markets); $92.1M intl cume
Bumblebee (PAR): $2.4M intl weekend (Japan only); $335.3M intl cume
The Mule (WB): $1.9M intl weekend (26 markets); $62.8M intl cume
Fighting With My Family (UNI): $1.9M intl weekend (5 markets); $1.9M intl UNI cume; $8.6M overall
What Men Want (PAR): $1.7M intl weekend (16 markets); $13.6M intl cume
Alita: Battle Angel (FOX): $1.6M intl weekend (43 markets); $316.1M intl cume
Instant Family (PAR): $738K intl weekend (21 markets); $52.4M intl cume
Peppermint (STX): $538K intl weekend (69 markets total); $17.3M intl cume
Happy Death Day 2U (UNI): $300K intl weekend (37 markets); $36.2M intl cume
BlackKklansman (UNI): $200K intl weekend (5 markets); $42.4M intl cume
The Upside (STX): $95K intl weekend (54 markets total); $12.9M intl cume

NEW LOCAL-LANGUAGE

Drama Song Of Youth, a story of high school kids and their teacher directed by Luan Zhang, grossed an estimated $11.3M in China this weekend per comScore ($12.7M according to local reports). The film slotted in a No. 2 behind holdover More Than Blue, a Taiwanese title that won the frame last weekend and has defied word of mouth after opening in Korea and other parts of SE Asia late last year.

In Korea, Money, about a rookie stockbroker who takes a chance when approached by an anonymous mastermind who secretly controls the market, led local play at $12M. The movie is directed by Park Nu-ri.

In Spain, Pedro Almodovar’s latest, Pain & Glory, opened to $1.4M on 320 screens for the No. 1 slot via Sony. Starring Penelope Cruz and Antonio Banderas, the drama centers on an aging filmmaker as he reflects on the meaningful relationships and pivotal moments of his life. This is one of the titles we expect to see in Cannes in May.

Also via Sony, Die Goldfische (Goldfish), a dark comedy starring Never Look Away’s Tom Schilling, launched to No. 3 in Germany. The story of a paraplegic who recruits a group of disabled people to smuggle cash across the Swiss border grossed $1.4M from 540 screens in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

MORE…