International Box Office: Exporting Doldrums
March 23, 2011
The international box office is as weak as the domestic box office is with very few films worth talking about. We do have a new number one, as Battle: Los Angeles earned first place with $28.74 million on 8,384 screens in 52 markets for a running tally of $51.70 million after just two weeks of release. The film debuted in first place in Australia with $2.58 million on 328 screens, while it also placed first during its debut in Brazil with $1.51 million on 263 screens. On the other hand, it had to settle for second place in France with $2.07 million on 295 screens. The number one film was a local hit, so there is a mitigating factor. As for its long-term chances, it was down 51% in the U.K. to $1.42 million on 417 screens over the weekend for a total of $5.61 million after two. This is not a great start there and will likely ends its run with the equivalent of $50 million to $60 million here.
Rango slipped to second place with $19.49 million on 5,860 screens in 54 markets for a total of $73.46 million. It opened in Russia but had to settle for second place with $4.44 million on 1,024 screens, but like the previous film on this week's list, it lost out to a local hit. Meanwhile, it returned to first place in the U.K. with $1.70 million on 470 screens over the weekend for a total of $8.16 million after three weeks of release. Even more impressively, it was down just just 17% during its sophomore stint in Australia adding $2.25 million on 302 screens to its running tally, which sits at $5.82 million after two weeks of release. It is well on its way to becoming the biggest hit of the year so far and will surpass The Green Hornet once it opens in France, Italy, Japan, etc.
The King's Speech remained in third place with $11.76 million on 3,891 screens in 53 markets for a total of $236.28 million internationally and $368.75 million worldwide. Its just coasting on holdovers, but it might have enough in the tank to get to $400 million worldwide.
That's it for the $10 million movies, but there are a few others of note. The Rite rose to fourth place with $7.42 million on 2,129 screens in 38 markets for a total of $48.30 million. This is already well above its domestic total, but still pretty weak. It managed just third place in its debut in Spain with $1.63 million on 288 screens, but given the nature of the film, I'm a bit surprised it didn't perform better. At least it wasn't as bad as it was in Germany where it only managed ninth place with $580,000 on 146 screens over the weekend and $599,000 in total.
As previously mentioned, the Russian box office was led by a local hit. That movie was Sluzhebnyy Roman - Nashe Vremya, a.k.a., Office Romance, which earned $7.00 million on 1,023 screens in 2 markets. Of that, $5.83 million was on 903 screens in Russia, while it also earned $1.20 million on 120 screens in the Ukraine.
Unknown climbed a couple spots to sixth with $5.95 million on 2,096 screens over the weekend for a total of $44.04 million after a month of release. It opened in Mexico over the weekend, but with just $1.09 million on 534 screens, it was a rather mediocre third place debut.
Black Swan continues to inch its way to $300 million worldwide. This week it added $5.80 million on 3,977 screens in 42 markets to its running tally, which now sits at $175.41 million internationally and $281.71 million worldwide.
Torrente 4 remained in first place in Spain with $5.33 million on 665 screens, lifting its running tally to $19.99 million after just two weeks of release. To put this in perspective, that's more than Tangled or Deathly Hallows: Part I made in that market.
Filed under: International Box Office, Rango, Battle: Los Angeles, Black Swan, The Rite, The King’s Speech, Unknown