International Box Office: Wrath Fills Up on International Sales

April 5, 2012

In a reversal of what happened domestically, Wrath of the Titans won the race on the international chart with an estimated $78 million in 60 markets. This includes some powerhouse results, like $12.66 million on 1,164 screens in Russia, which is more than The Hunger Games has made in two weeks. However, Russia tends to reward fantasy films over most other genres. It also did very well in Mexico ($5.09 million on 1,494 screens) and in Brazil ($4.05 million on 517). On the other hand, it struggled in the U.K. placing second with $3.52 million 466 screens. That's a weaker opening than it had here, given the relative size of the two markets. With a production budget of $150 million, it will likely need close to $400 million to break even before the home market. Anything more than $300 million will be enough to cover expenses, eventually, but probably won't be enough to greenlight a third installment in the franchise.

The Hunger Games was pushed into second place, but held on better than it did domestically with $34.8 million over the weekend for a total of $113.9 million after two. The film did remain in top spot in a number of markets, led by Australia with $5.03 million on 471 screens over the weekend for a total of $16.83 million after two. The U.K. was close behind with $4.79 million on 505 screens for a total of $15.80 million, while Germany earned $3.54 million on 623 screens over the weekend giving it a running tally of $9.02 million. It has yet to open in South Korea, Spain, Italy, and Japan and when it does finish, it will likely have more than $200 million internationally to go with its $350 million domestic total.

Dr. Seuss' The Lorax returned to the international chart with $14.5 million on 4,100 screens in 43 markets for a still early total of $37.7 million. It debuted in second place in Mexico with $2.58 million on 1,277 screens. It placed third in Australia with $2.20 million on 507 screens. It placed second in Spain with $1.62 million on 374 screens and third in Brazil with $1.52 million on 513 over the weekend for a total opening of $1.93 million. Dr. Seuss films tend to do better domestically than they do internationally, and that appears to be the case here, although it is only about two thirds of the way down its run, so that might change.

The Pirates! Band Of Misfits was next with $7.8 million on 2,749 screens in 12 markets. It just missed second place in the U.K. with $3.49 million on 541 screens. On the other hand, it only managed sixth place in Germany ($1.46 million on 477 screens) and in France ($1.32 million on 555). Overall, this is about on par with Aardman Animations's previous film, Arthur Christmas.

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel remained strong with $6.3 million on 1,932 screens in 27 markets for a total of $43.8 million. This past weekend, it debuted in mostly smaller markets. Its only major market was Italy, but it failed to connect with $221,000 on 132 screens. On the other hand, it remained in second place in Australia with $2.73 million on 269 screens for a two-week total of $8.32 million. By next week, it will have more than $10 million in that market, which is about the same as $100 million here, given the relative sizes of the two markets. It is just as strong in its native U.K. where it has $26.83 million after more than a month of release, including $785,000 on 316 this past weekend. It is opening in limited release here, but I suspect it will have enough appeal to expand enough to earn some measure of mainstream success.

Further down the list we find John Carter, which added $6.2 million over the weekend for a total of $188 million internationally. It also pushed its worldwide total over $250 million. It will need to add another $50 million worldwide just to save face.


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Filed under: International Box Office, Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax, John Carter, Wrath of the Titans, The Hunger Games, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, The Pirates! Band of Misfits