‘Kingsman’ Tops $250M Overseas On $40M China Bow; ‘IT’s At $650M+ WW; ‘DM3’ Catches ‘Dory’ – International Box Office

UPDATE, WRITETHRU Tuesday AM with actuals: Two weeks before Thor: Ragnarok comes hammering into China, Kingsman: The Golden Circle suited up in the Middle Kingdom on Friday, bowing to a stylish $39.5M. In a total 70 markets this frame, the Fox/MARV Films title added $48.1M, thrusting it back to the top spot on the international box office chart.
The Matthew Vaughn-helmed sequel had an offshore cume of $249.7M through Sunday, and ultimately crossed $250M on Monday, running about 30+% bigger than Kingsman: The Secret Service in the same group of markets and at current exchange rates.
Kingsman 2 is the first major Hollywood title to travel to the PROC following the National Day holiday Golden Week proceedings. Its bow there is 73% bigger than The Secret Service in March of 2015. It previously looked as though the Taron Egerton/Colin Firth/Mark Strong/Channing Tatum-starrer was going to face off with Warner Bros’ Geostorm in China at the weekend, but that pic now goes October 27 alongside Blade Runner 2049 (they will share the market’s 452 IMAX screens).
While Kingsman saw some small drops in the actuals versus the Sunday estimates, some Warner Bros titles kicked up a notch. That includes Geostorm which expanded to play in 58 markets. The sophomore session added $38M for a $52.1M overseas total to date. Despite its doomsday-scenario opening domestically, some folks see this one doing decent business in China when it opens on Friday. Still, finance sources surmise it’s ultimately bound to lose in excess of $100M (go here for Anthony D’Alessandro’s deep-dive). Also, time won’t be on its side.
Many international markets are in a holding pattern this coming week given the arrival of Disney/Marvel’s Thor: Ragnarok which begins offshore rollout today in the UK. By Friday this week, the threequel will be hammering at the turnstiles in about half the overseas landscape, including France, Italy, Spain, Korea, Australia and Brazil (and playing on 188 IMAX screens). The outlook is bleak for pretty much anyone in Thor‘s path. And, the week after that, the Crown Prince of Asgard lands in the rest of the world, including the U.S. and China.
Turning back to this week, milestones include New Line/Warner Bros’ Annabelle: Creation crossing $200M internationally on the back of a great hold at No. 1 in the sophomore Spain session. It passed $300M worldwide last Sunday. From the same studios, IT scared away all competition in Italy with a record-breaking opening that’s the biggest horror bow ever and WB’s top launch weekend of 2017. The international cume is $332.8M for $653M global. Also, China’s Never Say Die crossed $300M locally.
Illumination/Universal’s Despicable Me 3, meanwhile, has caught Finding Dory and is now the 4th highest grossing animated film worldwide at $1,029,386,000.
Actuals on the films above and more have been updated below.
HOLDOVERS/EXPANSIONS
KINGSMAN: THE GOLDEN CIRCLE
In China, the sequel grossed $3.5M in IMAX plays. A strong overall Middle Kingdom start will nevertheless face competition from newcomers on Friday with Geostorm blowing in. Blade Runner 2049 also lands on Friday, although the film underperformed in its Korea debut last week. The following weekend sees the release of Disney/Marvel’s Thor: Ragnarok so these films have little breathing room.
Vaughn, Egerton and Mark Strong recently traveled to the Middle Kingdom to promote Golden Circle. At a live-streamed Shanghai promotional event, Vaughn explained that the addition of some American flavor to the celebration of British culture was a way to expand the universe. “In the future we may find another culture to celebrate. It may be China,” he said, according to China Daily.
China is currently the top offshore play on KTGC (and could get up around $80M), followed by Korea with $36M and the UK at $30.6M.
The first film in the Kingsman franchise finaled at $286M overseas led by China, Korea and the UK. The Golden Circle still has Japan on January 5.
GEOSTORM
Faring better offshore than in its soggy domestic start, the $120M-budgeted movie was No. 1 in 42 markets, including Spain, Russia, the UAE, Holland, Brazil, Mexico and Australia. Regionally, it was the top choice for moviegoers in Europe and Latin America.
The Gerard Butler-starrer is about an intricate network of weather satellites that suddenly turn against the world, and several countries working together to quell the raging environment. Per WB, the starts “in most markets” have topped the openings of Butler’s Olympus Has Fallen and London Has Fallen, as well as Blade Runner 2049, White House Down and Into The Storm.
Butler’s last couple of action titles have skewed heavily towards international, and the winds on Geostorm are blowing the same direction.
The pic had been shuttled back-and-forth on its China date but is set for October 27, facing off with the start of Blade Runner 2049 next weekend. Folks expect it to whip up some Middle Kingdom business. An international cast that features Chinese star Daniel Wu should help here — but, again, Thor…
The Top 10 openings in this session are Korea ($5.3M/964 screens), Russia ($5.2M/2,485), Mexico ($3.8M/1,842), the UK ($2.2M/995), Brazil ($1.7M/624), the UAE ($1.4M/137), Germany ($1.3M/589), Australia ($1.2M/324), Spain ($1M/324) and Holland ($836K/149). Also notable: In Taiwan, the drop was 19% for a $5M cume.
In IMAX, Geostorm tallied $4.5M global.
BLADE RUNNER 2049
The top plays thus far are the UK ($20.6M), Russia ($9.3M), Germany ($9M), France ($8.6M) and Australia ($8.3M). It’s disappointing that Korea is not in that mix; it had a woeful start last frame and is now at about $2.3M.
China chimes in next frame, as does Japan. If the critically-adored movie from Denis Villeneuve is going to add any significant numbers it will come down to those hubs.
IT
The movie put the IT in Italy this frame, scaring up a $7.9M record-breaking start. The Andy Muschietti-directed Stephen King adaptation had the best-ever debut for a horror pic with 73% of the top five films. It’s also the best bow for WB in 2017.
The Top Five markets to date are: the UK ($42.2M), Germany ($31.9M), Mexico ($27.5M), Brazil ($19.7M) and Australia ($18.7M). In Argentina, the $11.1M so far makes IT the highest-grossing WB movie ever. The last major to open is Japan on November 3.
THE SNOWMAN
HAPPY DEATH DAY
MY LITTLE PONY: THE MOVIE
Lionsgate’s My Little Pony is trotting along with another $4.7M from 71 markets. The film, which plays to little girls, now has a $17.2M offshore cume. The UK was this weekend’s best start at $1.2M on 532 screens. France opened to $436K from 450 screens and Sweden debuted to $292K from 194. Australia is the next major to saddle up on November 2.
THE LEGO NINJAGO MOVIE
Warner Bros’ third entry in the Lego franchise added $4.9M on 5,037 screens in 63 markets. With school holidays in a number of holdover hubs, the drop was 33%. The overseas cume is $51.8M. The Top 5 are: the UK ($7.3M), Germany ($5.2M), Australia ($4.2M), Russia ($3.5M) and Poland ($2M).
THE FOREIGNER
AMERICAN MADE
THE MOUNTAIN BETWEEN US
Idris Elba and Kate Winslet recovered $2.7M in 20 markets their third time out. Led by a good hold in Australia at No. 3 and good openings in Peru ($150K/No. 4) and Central America ($145K/No. 2), the international cume on the Hany Abu-Assad-helmed survival tale is $14.1M. Next weekend, the film opens in 8 markets including Colombia and Holland.
MISC UPDATED CUMES/NOTABLE
Condorito (FOX): $1.8M intl weekend (11 markets/Lat Am only) $5.3M intl cume
Cars 3 (DIS): $1.7M intl weekend (10 markets); $226.1M intl cume
Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie (FOX): $1.6M intl weekend (14 markets/Germany +2%); $45.1M intl cume
Victoria And Abdul (UNI): $1.5M intl weekend (35 markets); $31.5M intl cume
Annabelle: Creation (WB): $1.2M intl weekend (24 markets); $201.2M intl cume
Mother! (PAR): $1.1M intl weekend (46 markets); $24.8M intl cume
Atomic Blonde (UNI/SA): $811K intl weekend (Japan only); $45.1M intl cume
War For The Planet Of The Apes (FOX): $810K intl weekend (Japan only); $343.4M intl cume
Tadeo Jones 3 (PAR): $795K intl weekend (2 markets); $20.2M intl cume
A Dog’s Purpose (UNI): $509K intl weekend (Japan only/$6.7M cume); $200M intl cume