Key Openings for Skeleton

August 28, 2005

The Skeleton Key opened in 10- more markets over the weekend and in now playing on 1400 screens, however, it still hasn't found the success the studio was hoping for. It did open in first place in Germany, but it still had a very soft opening with $1.6 million. It also opened in first place in Russia with $625,000 over the weekend and $780,000 since Thursday, but in Australia and New Zealand it had to settle for a distant second place with $760,000 and $110,000 respectively. The Skeleton Key also open in Austria with $230,000 for the week, but its placing is unknown at the moment. Add in holdovers in France, ($250,000 for $2.2 million) and the U.K., ($130,000 for $4.5 million) and you have roughly $4 million for the weekend and $16.5 million so far.

• Bewitched is starting its international run in earnest after a few weeks at the Australian box office. This week in conjured up $3.7 million on 1200 screens including a second place, $1.888 million opening in the U.K. It also opened in Taiwan earning a first place finish with $210,000 over the weekend and $264,000 in total and $233,000 in a sixth place opening in Russia. That pushed its international total to $13.75 million, nearly half of that coming from Australia.
• Welcome to Dongmakgol remained in top spot in South Korea for the third weekend in a row with $3.31 million down just 33% from last weekend, which is an excellent result in a market not know for its long legs.
• The Wedding Crashers remained in first place in Australia with dropping 33% to $2.2 million on 391 screens for a running tally in the market of $6.6 million. In New Zealand it held up in better dropping just 26% to $277,000 for a $740,000 running tally. On the other hand, the film fell more than 50% in France to just $512,000, barely enough for 10th place on the charts there. The film now has $38.5 million internationally, and even without any more English-speaking markets left to open in, the film has already shown a profit so it matters little.
• Sin City added another $2.8 million to its $60 million running tally on the international scene. More than half this week's total came from its sophomore session in Germany where the film earned $1.5 million on 483 screens but the film also performed well in Spain with $800,000 on 325 and Austria with $226,000 on 64.
• War of the Worlds is just wrapping up its international run bringing in another $2.5 million over the weekend lifting its international box office to $339 million.
• Leave When Clapping lost nearly 50% during its second weekend in South Korea, but its $1.95 million was still good enough for second place. In two weeks the film has earned $7.5 million in the market and will beat such Hollywood blockbusters as Madagascar and Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith before long.
• Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith made $1.8 million in Japan over the weekend for a $67 million running tally in the market. It also hit $455 million internationally, which puts it in a virtual tie with The Lion King for 14th place on the all-time charts while its $834 million worldwide is 11th on the All-Time Chart.
• A South Korea film, which I think is called Bad Detective 2: Daero's Choice, opened in third place with $1.27 million over the weekend and $1.52 million since it debuted on Thursday.
• Danny the Dog opened in a pair on major markets this weekend but with mixed results. In Australia the film managed third place with $650,000 on 148 screens but in the U.K. it finished sixth with $890,000 on 270 screens. So far the film, which cost $43 million to make, has only earned $17.1 million internationally and $41.6 million worldwide.
• Crash had the best week-to-week performance in the top ten in the U.K. slipping by a tiny 10% to $1.32 million for the weekend and $3.87 million overall. The film was a surprise hit domestically, but won't match its $53 million on the international scene having earned just $5 million so far.
• Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy opened in France but struggled with just $1.28 million on 250 screens, which was the second best per screen average in the top ten there. On the one hand, the film is doing very well in many markets despite the small releases, but on the other hand, it needs to open wider if it wants to add to its $47.4 million international total and earn a sequel or two.
• The Adventures of Shark Boy and Lava Girl opened in France with a disastrous $206,000 on 197 screens, and that was for the whole week. The film performed much better during its debut in Spain but still struggled with $370,000 on 150 screens. Holdovers were much better as it dropped a spot to fifth in Brazil with $333,000 on 155 screens while adding another $230,000 in Russia. In both markets the film has just over $2 million, and combined they represent nearly half of the films $10 million international box office.
• Tom Yum Goong opened in fourth place in South Korea with $696,000 over the weekend and $844,000 since Thursday. On the other hand, it opened with just $41,000 on 9 screens in Taiwan, including previews, and fell more than 60% during its second weekend in Hong Kong landing in third place with $286,000.
• The Transporter 2 recovered from last week's drop slipping just 28% in its third weekend in France to $992,000 for the weekend and $6.00 million during its run. This bodes very well for next weekend's domestic release.
• Guess Who's best market of the weekend was still Spain where the film added $410,000 during its fifth weekend for a running tally of $5.4 million. Other markets include a fifth place opening in Italy with $240,000 on 106 screens and $220,000 in France for a $1.1 million running tally in that market. Overall the film now has $28.7 million and is inching ever closer to $100 million worldwide.
• Valiant opened in several markets to coincide with its domestic debut with its best market in terms of raw dollars was Russia with $375,000 over the weekend and $460,000 since Thursday, but the film finished first in Poland with $140,000 over the weekend and $155,000 since Thursday. On the other hand, the film was weak in the twin markets of the Czech Republic and Slovakia managed just over $21,000 combined and rankings of 10th and fifth respectively. Holdovers will no better as the film lost more than half its box office in Hong Kong, ($100,000), Sweden, ($75,000), and Norway, ($50,000.) After all of that the film only has $26.5 million internationally, which is still higher than what it will finish with domestically.
• Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo made its international debut with openings in three European markets but managed just $720,000 on 328 screens. Its best market in terms of raw dollars was Germany with $313,000 on 196 screens, which is very low for a market that tends to support low brow comedies. On the other hand, it finished first in Holland with $297,000 on 86 screens, but the setting of the movie had a lot to do with that. The final market was Austria, where the film made $110,000 on 46 screens, which is somewhere in-between the two other markets.
• The Amityville Horror opened in first place in Italy with a better than expected $550,000 over the weekend and $690,000 overall. It also scored a second place debut in the Czech Republic with $44,000 on 13 screens. That helped push its international total to $31.2 million, with the biggest markets being the U.K. at $8.6 million and Spain at $5.6 million
• Dark Water opened in three midlevel markets over the weekend with $130,000 on 35 screens in Sweden, $99,500 on 60 in Poland, and $60,000 on 20 screens in Norway. Overall the film added $653,000 and now has $7.1 million internationally, $2.4 million coming from the U.K. and $2.2 million from Mexico.
• George A. Romero's Land of the Dead failed to show much life during its second weekend in France down more than 50% to $560,000 and more than 60% in Hong Kong to $70,000. It has now earned $1.79 million in France, which is the largest single chunk of the films $7.5 million running total.
• Drink Drank Drunk opened in its home market of Hong Kong with a first place, $595,600 opening on 44 screens.
• The horror film Cello opened in its native South Korea with $450,000 over the weekend and $565,000 since Thursday.
• Coach Carter opened in France just missed the top ten with just $550,000 on 179 screens. The film has not been a box office hit internationally, but this is hardly surprising since Basketball is not a really popular sport outside the United States.
• A Lot Like Love fell nearly 50% in France landing $270,000 for the week and $810,000 during its run, but was better in Brazil adding $236,000 to its nearly $1 million box office in the market. With $19.4 million internationally, the film is very close to matching its domestic run.
• Sympathy for Lady Vengeance fell lost two thirds of its box office in South Korea this weekend, but still added $480,000 to its $22 million total.
• Fantastic Four lost more than 72% during its second weekend in South Korea plummeting to just $475,000 on 106 screens. That did push the film's international total to $143.4 million, almost as much as it earned domestically.
• The Perfect Man opened in the U.K. in semi-wide release but just missed the top ten by roughly $5000. Its $395,000 on 151 screens was a reasonable start considering the lack of support from the studio, (151 screens in the U.K. is like opening in less than 1000 theatres domestically.) It also opened in the United Arab Emirate with $40,000 on 8 screens, finishing in sixth place. The film added another $20,000 to its $260,000 total in the Netherlands, also on a small screen count. On the other hand, Hilary Duff's latest album is the number on seller CD in the world; didn't think her music career would overtake her movie career.
• Batman Begins remained in first place with $396,000 for the week and $2.666 million during its run. With that the film has $163 million internationally, which is more than enough to show a healthy profit.
• Raise Your Voice opened in third place in Italy with $364,000 including previews. That puts its worldwide box office at roughly $15 million, which is about what it cost to make.
• Monster-In-Law debuted in Holland over the weekend but failed to make an impact finishing in eighth with just $57,000 on 40 screens. On the other hand, it did add another $300,000 during its fifth weekend in Australia for a $6.0 million running tally in the market and just shy of $50 million internationally.
• The Rising had steep drop-offs in both the U.K. and Australia, which is common among niche market films. In the U.K. it fell 57% to $167,000 for the weekend and $780,000 during its run, while in Australia it lost 51% for the week to $40,000 for a running tally of $128,000. It also opened in the United Arab Emirate with $132,000, but that was for the weekend before last.
• The Norwegian film, Tommys Inferno, debuted it top spot in its home market with $327,000 on 54 screens, which is not a bad start for a film that cost an estimated $2.1 million to make.
• Kicking and Screaming dropped just 16% during its second weekend in Australia adding $291,000 to its $891,000 running tally. With just $2.3 million internationally, the film won't come close to matching its domestic total, which was a disappointing result to begin with.
• Barsaat was the latest Hindi language film to open in both the U.K. and Australia simultaneously. In the U.K. the film made $254,000 on just 41 screens for the best per screen average in the market while in Australia it made $10,000 on 6 screens.
• Howl's Movie Castle debuted in eighth place in Brazil with $175,000 on 112 screens while in Holland it opened in limited release finishing with $14,000 on 8 screens, which is on par with most other markets. While the film has earned $227 million internationally, $190 million of that came from its native market of Japan and most of the rest came from other Asian market.
• The Perfect Catch was in free-fall dropping 62% to $185,000 during its second weekend in the U.K.
• Good news, Kung Fu Hustle's worldwide total is now $98.7 million. Bad news, in Australia it lost 40% of its box office landing at $164,000 along the way and without any other markets left to open in it will likely fall just shy of $100 million worldwide.
• Stealth has been all but invisible on the international scene making just $16 million overall. Its best market this weekend was Russia with $100,000 during its fourth weekend of release for a $1.7 million running tally there while it could do no better than $60,000 during its third weekend in the U.K. for a $2.2 million total there.
• Racing Stripes debuted in Hong Kong with a fourth place, $154,000 finish on 29 screens, which is a thoroughly average result and on par with the rest of its $35 million international run.
• Me and You and Everyone We Know opened in 15th place in the U.K. despite play on just 23 screens. Its $140,000 was just shy of what it needed to have the best per screen average in the market.
• Going the Distance slipped by just 36% during its second weekend in Russia adding $138,000 to its $522,000 total there. That's about half of the $1.25 million the film earned domestically.
• The Longest Yard opened in Sweden with $95,000 on 22 screens, which at eighth place is one of its better results. On the other hand, it plummeted from 5th to 12th during its sophomore stint in Norway with just $25,000.
• Bride and Prejudice opened in Germany with $116,600 on just 43 screens, which is a reasonable start given the film's niche appeal.
• Robots is in the top ten in just two markets, Japan and South Korea. In the latter market the film added $100,000 while dropping to 10th spot. On the other hand, in Japan the film rose a spot to eighth, but the actual box office number is not known at the moment. Whatever it was, it help the film earn $129.9 million internationally, just over what it made domestically.
• Millions was flat during its sophomore stint in Australia with $75,000 on 31 screens for a $186,000 running tally there. It wasn't quite as strong in New Zealand, but still did amazing down just 17% with $24,000 on 12 screens for a $110,000 total there.
• Hotel Rwanda opened in Mexico the weekend before last with $95,000 on 30 screens. This is a reasonable start compared to most ot its $9.5 million international run, but well below its domestic totals.
• The Devil's Rejects' third weekend in the U.K. was no better than the second after a 62% drop-off and a $88,000 weekend. This is the film's first international market, but a $1.4 million, three-week total is not a good start.
• Mysterious Skin debut in 15th place in Australia despite playing on just 11 screens. The film earned $50,000 during the weekend and $62,000 overall.
• Beauty Shop opened in New Zealand finishing in fifth place with $38,600 on 18 screens, which is better than I thought it would do.
• Mean Creek opened in Italy with just $32,000 on 45 screens, which is strange since the market tends to support smaller films like this.
• The Woodsman opened in New Zealand with $32,000 on 19 screens, about on par with the rest of its $2.2 million international run.
• A busy week in Italy finally pushed Ginger Snaps Back: The Beginning out of the top five there, but not before the film added $30,000 this weekend to its $863,000 total in the market.
• The Jacket saw its opening weekend box office sliced in half to just $30,000 for a two-week total of just $125,000.
• Being Julia opened in Chile the week before last with $28,800 on 10 screens.
• Alone in the Dark added another $26,500 during its fourth weekend in Italy for a $335,000 running tally in the market, which is a better than expected result.
• The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants's debut in Italy went poorly as the film managed just $24,000 on 25 screens. The film has really struggled internationally earned just $1.5 million so far.
• Boogeyman had the worst week-to-week performance in the top twenty in Italy falling by 77% to just $16,000 on 77 screens. That did just its total in the market to $2.65 million and $16.4 million internationally.
• Primer earned $13,265 on 3 screens during its debut in the U.K., which is nearly double what the film cost to make.
• The Bad News Bears plummeted to just $11,650 on 62 screens during its second weekend in the U.K., down nearly 86% from last week.
• Dear Wendy opened in 20th place in limited release in Belgium, but no box office data was available.

Filed under: International Box Office, Star Wars Ep. III: Revenge of the Sith, War of the Worlds, Wedding Crashers, Batman Begins, The Longest Yard, Fantastic Four, Robots, Monster-in-Law, Sin City, Guess Who, Coach Carter, The Amityville Horror, Bewitched, Crash, Kicking and Screaming, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Racing Stripes, The Skeleton Key, Boogeyman, The Transporter 2, Fever Pitch, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, Beauty Shop, The Bad News Bears, Stealth, Dark Water, Danny the Dog, Hotel Rwanda, Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo, A Lot Like Love, George A. Romero's Land of the Dead, Valiant, Kung Fu Hustle, The Devil’s Rejects, The Perfect Man, Tom yum goong, Raise Your Voice, Being Julia, Bride & Prejudice, Millions, The Jacket, Hauru no ugoku shiro, Me and You and Everyone We Know, The Woodsman, The Rising, Mysterious Skin, Mean Creek, Primer, Dear Wendy, Going the Distance, The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D, Alone in the Dark