International Box Office: Double Milestone for Inception
September 8, 2010
It was a busy week for Inception, as it rose to top spot on the international chart and crossed two major milestones in the process: $400 million internationally and $700 million worldwide. Over the weekend, it earned $21.00 million on 7,785 screens in 61 markets for a total of $425.15 million internationally and $702.30 million worldwide. Much of this was due to its debut in China, where it placed first with $13.6 million. It has yet to open in Italy, but it will likely start falling off at an accelerated pace from now till its premiere in that market at the end of the month.
The Expendables also hit a milestone or two this weekend, despite slipping to second place with $13.59 million on 4,793 screens in 42 markets for a total of $125.76 million internationally and $217.95 million worldwide.
I was not expecting this film to reach $200 million worldwide, and even with a production budget that is north of $80 million, this is a fantastic run and it is not quite done. It opened in second place in Italy with $1.17 million on 326 screens for a total opening of $1.63 million.
A lack of major openings resulted in The Last Airbender falling more than 50% to $9.39 million on 3499 screens in 42 markets for a total of $139.64 million internationally and $270.69 million worldwide. After it opens in Australia next weekend, it will surpass its total cost. It will still need a strong run on the home market to break even, but that's more likely than not at this point.
Salt remained in fourth place again this week with $8.65 million on 3935 screens in 65 markets for a total of $146.72 million internationally and $261.94 million worldwide. There will be a sequel.
The Karate Kid moved up a spot to fifth with $8.26 million on 3538 screens in 44 markets for a total of $158.07 million internationally and $334.30 million worldwide. It is starting to shed screens and markets, but it is already a huge financial hit, so this it not an issue.
Piranha 3D climbed to sixth place with $8.17 million on 1977 screens in 14 markets for a still early total of $27.12 million internationally. Its biggest opening came in France where it made $1.74 million on 250 screens, which was enough for second place.
Step Up 3D rose one spot to seventh with $7.86 million on 2247 screens in 36 markets for a total of $86.02 million internationally and $127.10 million worldwide. It has already earned more than the original made worldwide, while it should become the first film in the franchise to reach $100 million internationally.
The Sorcerer's Apprentice climbed back into the top ten with $7.72 million on 3472 screens in 38 markets for a total of $115.30 million internationally and $176.87 million worldwide. This weekend it opened in Germany with $1.61 million on 343 screens over the weekend, which was enough for second place. It will end its international run earning more than twice as much than it did domestically, but this will not be enough to show a profit any time soon.
Toy Story 3 fell from fifth to ninth with $7.63 million on 3889 screens in 42 markets for totals of $622.46 million internationally and $1.03 billion worldwide. It is now the highest grossing film of the year and the fifth highest grossing film of all-time.
Shrek Forever After plummeted more than 50% to $5.57 million on 2704 screens in 40 markets for a total of $481.91 million internationally and $720.23 million worldwide. Internationally, It is now the highest grossing Dreamworks Animation film of all time, and after it opens in Japan in December, it should cross $500 million overseas.
We Are Family failed to make a huge impact here, but internationally it placed 11th with $4.68 million on 966 screens in 17 markets. This is a good opening for an Indian film.
Cats & Dogs: The Revenge Of Kitty Galore remained in 12th place with 44.06 million on 3085 screens in 49 markets for a total of $49.94 million internationally. It opened in third place in Brazil with $904,000 on 198 screens, which is better than its debut here, but not enough to make a real dent in its bottom line.
Grown Ups added $4.04 million on 2107 screens in 47 markets for a total of $78.13 million internationally and $238.18 million worldwide. It just managed to overtake Click to become Adam Sandler's biggest hit of all time.
Finally we get to Avatar, which slipped to 14th place with $3.91 million on 1482 screens in 20 markets for a total of $2.01 billion internationally and $2.77 billion worldwide.
Filed under: International Box Office, Inception, The Sorcerer's Apprentice, The Last Airbender, Salt, The Expendables, Shrek Forever After, The Karate Kid, Grown Ups, Piranha 3D, Toy Story 3, Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore, Avatar, Step Up 3D