International Box Office: Hobbit Rules Weekend, Skyfall Cracks $1 Billion

January 3, 2013

We are still stuck with studio estimates, but it is clear The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey repeated on the top of the international box office chart this past weekend. It earned $106.5 million in 62 markets for totals of $464 million internationally and $686 million worldwide. Its biggest opening of the weekend was from Australia where it earned $18.6 million on 560 screens. This is the biggest opening in the franchise. It also remained strong in Germany with $17.17 million on 888 screens over the weekend, which represented an 11% increase and pushed its total to $61.14 million after three weeks of release. It was also able to earn more than $10 million in the U.K. with $11.18 million on 596 screens over the weekend for a total of $58.51 million after three weeks of release. The film has yet to open in a few markets, so getting to $1 billion worldwide is still the main target.

Life of Pi was next with $40.1 million on 7,936 screens in 56 markets for a total of $220.2 million internationally. The film's biggest market was the U.K. where it earned $6.82 million on 550 screens over the weekend for a total of $17.48 million. It opened in Germany with $6.21 million on 629 screens over the weekend for a total opening of of $7.46 million. The film has several major markets left to open in (Australia, Russia, South Korea, Japan) so it has not done its run yet.

Les Misérables opened in third place with $38.6 million on 1,682 screens in 8 markets for a still early total of $49 million. It debuted in South Korea with $5.28 million on 621 screens over the weekend, but its total opening was $20.37 million. This is the best opening ever for a musical in that market. It brought in $8.3 million on 241 screens in Australia. It added $2.95 million on 361 screens in Japan for a two-week total of $12.98 million.

Wreck-It Ralph added $20.4 million in 40 markets for a total of $100.2 million internationally and $275.9 million worldwide.

Jack Reacher was right behind with $18.1 million on 2,195 screens in 25 markets for an early total of $22.5 million. Of this, $5.83 million was earned on 448 screens in the U.K., while it made $5.20 million on 544 screens in France.

Skyfall fell out of the top five, but the studio still had reason to celebrate as it reached the $1 billion milestone worldwide. The film added $10.3 million on 3,225 screens in 60 markets for totals of $710.6 million internationally and $1.002 billion worldwide. It has, in essence, lapped the rest of the franchise, as no other Bond film made $600 million in total.


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Filed under: International Box Office, Life of Pi, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Skyfall, Wreck-It Ralph, Les Misérables, Jack Reacher, James Bond, Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings