International Box Office: Starting the New Year with Old Numbers
January 5, 2011
The Christmas break is just ending, but as it is normally the case, international numbers are late. We do have studio estimates for a few films, as well as last week's final numbers, which had a surprise change at the top. We'll start with this week's possible number one film. Gulliver’s Travels led the list of studio estimates with $24.9 million on 3,964 screens in 33 markets for a total of $48.9 million. This includes a massive $10.98 million opening on 497 screens in the U.K. That's like a $50 to $60 million opening here; granted, that was since boxing day, but since it won't make that much in total domestically, it is still an impressive opening. On the other hand, it opened in second place in Australia with $2.85 million on 411 screens. Still better than its opening here, but more inline with expectations.
Tron: Legacy may or may not have finished second with $23.7 million on 5929 screens in 40 markets for a total of $110 million. It opened in fourth place in Italy with $2.27 million on 271 screens over the weekend for a total of $3.36 million. It also placed fourth in its debut in South Korea, with $2.21 million on 437 screens over the weekend and $2.90 million in total. On the other hand, it topped the chart in Mexico with $2.10 million on 507 screens over the weekend, for a total of $7.92 million since Christmas Eve. With openings in Germany and France, as well as other markets, left ahead, it should match its domestic total internationally, which would give it at least $300 million worldwide. That's the minimum I would except to call the film a success. It won't be profitable until it reaches the home market, but that would at least make profitability likely.
Little Fockers was next with $22.5 million over the weekend for a two-week total of $72 million. It managed second place in Mexico with $1.78 million on 486 screens over the weekend for a total opening of $2.16 million. This is about 30% to 40% less than Meet the Fockers. In the U.K. it added $4.08 million on 482 screens over the weekend for a total of $17.43 million after two. Holidays helped, but it is still 40% lower than its predecessor was at this point in its run.
The Voyage Of The Dawn Treader added another $21.5 million on 7786 screens in 68 markets for a total of $211.4 million. On the one hand, this is twice as much as it will make here. Also, it means its worldwide total has surpassed its total budget, which means it should show a profit sooner rather than later. On the other hand, I still don't think it is enough to salvage the franchise, especially given the sharp declines.
There were a couple of major milestones to report as well, with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I reaching $600 million internationally and $900 million worldwide. Meanwhile, Tangled topped $300 million worldwide.
As for some updates for last week's numbers... first place actually went to If You Are The One 2 with $26.13 million on 745 screens over the weekend for a total opening of $31.66 million. Another Chinese film, Let The Bullets Fly, placed third with $24.08 million on 770 screens over the weekend for a total of $57.75 million after two. It should come as no surprise that the Chinese box office broke records with a total of $1.5 billion in 2010. Granted, home grown offerings do represent a large portion of that, but even so, at this pace it could become the most important foreign more for Hollywood films in short order.
Filed under: International Box Office, Little Fockers, Gulliver's Travels, Tron: Legacy, Tangled, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader