Reign Of Horror: ‘Conjuring 3’ Leads Weekend As Global Cume Hits $57M; ‘Quiet Place 2’ Grows To $139M WW – International Box Office

UPDATE, writethru: The horror genre was the biggest global draw this weekend, demonstrating that the communal theatrical experience of scary movies is alive and well. New Line/Warner Bros’ The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It led the international box office with $26.8M from 43 markets while Paramount’s A Quiet Place Part II saw its sophomore frame add $19.2M. The films were bolstered by domestic which continues to see audience appetite for returning to cinemas.

The Conjuring 3 went out early in just two offshore hubs last session and expanded with another 41 markets this weekend. The latest in the hit horror series that returns paranormal investigators Lorraine and Ed Warren has pushed the group of seven films to $1.86B global, the top horror franchise ever. For this James Wan-helmed installment, the overseas total is now $33.1M and $57.1M worldwide.

Conjuring 3 ranked No. 1 in 31 of its launch markets this frame and, in like-for-likes, is tracking 12% above Annabelle and 30% over the first Conjuring at today’s rates. Mexico, which leans into horror, was the top play this weekend with $6.7M at 3,090 locations. As Korea rebounds, it put Conjuring 3 at No. 1 for a $3.1M start at 900 sites. Coming out of its sophomore session, the UK leads all play at $7.5M. There are still 29 markets to come over the next few months (see more below).

After debuting to a fantastic $22M in just 12 markets last weekend, the John Krasinski-helmed A Quiet Place Part II picked up another $19.2M in 16 markets. That takes the offshore running total to $50M and worldwide to $138.6M. Markets in release overseas currently rep 47% of the international footprint. On a like-for-like basis, AQP2 is running 15% ahead of the original 2018 hit. The UK and Russia saw notable No. 1 debuts with a respective $5.1M and $4M, including previews. In China, the drop was just 52% for a market total of $29M — Maoyan has raised its projections on the film to RMB 233.7M ($36.5M) which would be higher than the previous entry’s RMB 221M.

Also after debuting last frame, Disney’s Cruella saw a scant 7% drop in those same opening markets, taking $18.6M in a total of 36 material territories. That lifts the offshore cume to $43.4M and gives the Emma Stone-starrer a worldwide total of $87.1M. Cruella kicked off in China today, a rare Sunday launch, and grossed $1.8M at No. 4. The early social scores are encouraging with a 9.2 on both Maoyan and Tiao Piaopiao, however the Douban critical score is fairly low at 6.8. Maoyan is currently projecting a dismal $5M finish, although that’s after only one day of play and the service is known to update its estimates. The coming weekend in China adds Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway as well as Alibaba’s Are You Lonesome Tonight? (aka Tropical Memories) and a pair of animated films from China and Japan.

Still topping China’s box office, Universal’s F9 has crossed $250M internationally with $256M through Sunday in just eight markets. The weekend was worth $13.4M for a 57% drop from the last session, which had seen a hefty 81% dip.

In China, F9 has now overtaken Godzilla Vs Kong to become the biggest Hollywood movie to release during the pandemic. It’s grossed an estimated RMB 1.3B ($203.8M) to date, on par with Hobbs & Shaw at the same point in release. The latter film topped out at RMB 1.43B. Maoyan currently predicts that F9 won’t match Hobbs & Shaw, landing at RMB 1.38B, but time will tell as the film was again No. 1 this weekend and has no similar demo competition ahead of it. The gross through Sunday gives Universal bragging rights to six movies that have crossed the $200M milestone in the Middle Kingdom, the most ever for a single studio (above Disney’s five). In Korea, F9 is just 16% below Furious 7 with a cume of $17.7M to notch the biggest gross for a Hollywood movie across both 2020 and 2021. There are still many markets to come which will begin with Australia on June 17 as rollout continues through the summer.

Columbia Pictures’ Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway scampered off with another $4M from 14 markets, down just 20% to cume $45.8M ahead of its China and North American releases this coming Friday.
 
And, we are hearing that Demon Slayer – Kimetsu No Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Train has indeed passed the $500M global mark, but are still waiting on those pesky official figures to attribute a precise number. The Sony Pictures Releasing International cume is $3.1M of the total, hailing from 719 screens in two markets. In Russia, Demon Slayer ranks as the highest grossing anime film ever and the top Japanese production with $1.7M.

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

HOLDOVERS
THE CONJURING: THE DEVIL MADE ME DO IT

New Line/WB’s seventh film in the Conjuring-verse scared up $26.8M in 41 overseas markets this session, lifting the cume to $33.1M internationally and $50.1M global. The IMAX portion to date is $1.2M offshore in select markets that include the UK, Mexico and Korea (92 screens will be added this coming week in 11 markets including Russia and France).

The start in Mexico was good for a strong $6.7M on 3,090 screens and a 71% share. This is the second biggest opening post-pandemic, running on par with Annabelle Comes Home and more than double the original Conjuring.

Korea got off to a $3.1M start on 900 screens, 46% above Annabelle Comes Home and 150% over The Curse Of La Llorona. Indonesia kicked off with $2.2M from 1,300, topping A Quiet Place 2 by 49% and 287% above the first Conjuring. In Australia, where cinemas are still closed in Victoria (30% of the market), a $2.2M launch on just 199 screens was the third best bow for a Conjuring movie. Spain chimed in with $1.8M from 454, also the third best debut in the series. Horror hungry Brazil scored the best start of the pandemic era at $1.6M from 913, ahead of the Annabelles and double the original film. The UK has grossed $7.5M after two frames.

In like-for-like markets and at today’s rates, Conjuring 3 is running ahead of Annabelle by 12% and above the first Conjuring by 30%. Total international admissions to date are 5.6M. Another 12 markets open next weekend including France, Russia and Argentina.

A QUIET PLACE PART II

In its sophomore session, Paramount’s sequel ran up another $19.3M in 16 markets to bring the offshore total to $50M and global to $138.6M. This is just 47% of the international footprint and tracks ahead of the 2018 original by 15%.

The UK launched this session at No. 1 with a fantastic $5.1M including previews at 563 locations. In IMAX, AQP2 drew $430K from the UK, the strongest bow in the market since Tenet last year. Russia was also a No. 1 start at $4M from 1,700 locations. Poland, which is just getting back up and running, gave AQP2 a $245K No. 1 debut at 157 sites and Israel opened No. 2 with $125K at 30.

In holds, China’s second frame delivered $7M from 10,639 locations. AQP2 is still running No. 3 in the market behind F9 and Stand By Me Doraemon 2, but with just a 52% drop, the local cume after 10 days is $29M and the film looks set to overtake the previous installment’s RMB 221M.

Australia dipped just 40% to cume $6.1M. Indonesia’s total is $2.6M after a 61% drop and New Zealand has taken $1.2M, off just 23% from opening.

There are 22 markets set to open next week including Mexico (IMAX will add 65 screens in 18 markets). On deck after that are France, Korea, Japan, Spain, Italy, Germany and Brazil through July 15.

CRUELLA

Disney’s Cruella had a fantastic hold in the markets where it opened last session, dropping just 7%. The weekend was worth $18.6M in 36 material markets for a $43.4M offshore cume to date and $87.1M global.

China opened on Sunday in fourth place with $1.8M. Social sentiment is very good, but Maoyan is eyeing a very low finish which could certainly change in the coming days. However, piracy has to be a concern and there is a holiday ahead next weekend which will usher in a handful of local films.

Elsewhere, Cruella scored a No. 2 bow in Russia with $2.4M, 23% ahead of Mulan. Second weekend holds were higher in several markets including Switzerland (+83%), Portugal (+58%), Brazil (+19%), Korea (+9%), Spain (+7%) and Colombia (+4%). The drop was zero in Ukraine and other areas were just a touch off including Japan (-3%), Australia (-6%), Poland (-6%), New Zealand (-8%), Italy (-15%), Mexico (-16%), UK (-18%), Ecuador (-19%) and Hong Kong (-25%).

The Top 5 markets to date are the UK ($6.2M), Mexico ($5.8M), Korea ($5.7M), Australia ($2.6M) and Russia ($2.4M). Next weekend adds Belgium, Czech Republic and Hungary with France due on June 23 — it will be a purely theatrical play in the latter market despite the presence of Disney+.
 
F9

Universal’s tentpole now has $256M in the tank after three weeks and in just eight overseas markets. The actioner added $13.4M this session and has become the sixth Uni title to cross $200M in China as well as the biggest Hollywood movie of the pandemic in that market. Despite meh word of mouth, the film continues to lead the box office there, picking up $8.8M in the session for a $203.8M total so far.

In Korea, F9 is gunning 16% below Furious 7 with a cume of $17.7M to notch the biggest gross for a Hollywood movie across both 2020 and 2021. In Russia, it has surpassed the lifetime of Fast 6 and is performing above Hobbs & Shaw with a $15.9M cume. The Top 5 is rounded out by Saudi Arabia ($6.9M) and UAE ($5.1M).

The IMAX global cume has risen to $21M, of that, $17.9M is from China, nearly 9% of the nationwide total. Australia is the next market to open, on June 17, followed by Brazil, Mexico and the UK the following session in step with domestic.

PETER RABBIT 2: THE RUNAWAY

Columbia’s sequel keeps bouncing along before it hits both China and the U.S. on Friday, collecting $4M in the session from 14 markets for a strong -20% hold. The offshore cume is now $45.8M with lots more play ahead including Japan and France in late June, and Germany, Italy and Spain across July with Brazil in August. In the UK, Peter grossed an average of $1.1M per day during the school holiday midweeks and has a total $17.5M through Sunday.
 
MISC UPDATED CUMES/NOTABLE

Rurouni Kenshin The Beginning (WB): $4.5M intl weekend (Japan only); $4.5M intl cume
Wrath Of Man (MIR): $2.7M intl weekend (35 markets); $62.1M intl cume/$86.7M global
Nobody (UNI): $773K intl weekend (38 markets); $21.9M intl cume/$48M global