International Box Office: Christmas Comes Early
November 3, 2011
The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn doesn't open here till a few days before Christmas, but it led the way on the international chart with an astonishing $56.56 million on 5,699 screens in 19 markets. Its biggest opening was in France, where it managed $26.97 million on 850 screens. That's like a $150 million opening here. It's a record for a non-sequel in that market. It wasn't as impressive in the U.K., but it did score $10.83 million on 512 screens, which is equivalent to a $50 million to $60 million opening here. These results will force me to re-evaluate its box office potential with an above $200 million run a lot more likely now. Granted, the source material is better known in Europe, plus it will have a lot more competition when it debuts here, but this is still a great sign going forward.
Ra. One also broke records earning second place with $33.35 million on 3,815 screens in less than 20 markets. This is a record for a Bollywood film topping Bodyguard's worldwide debut from earlier this year. The film was given a boost by holidays and it will likely collapse next weekend, but this is still an amazing result.
Puss in Boots only debuted in 3 markets, but it managed third place with $17.23 million on 950 screens. In Russia it earned $14.88 million on 700 screens, while in neighboring Ukraine it took in $1.73 million on 124 screens, while the rest came from the Philippines.
In Time was right behind with $15.58 million on 2,514 screens in 35 markets. It opened in first place in Australia, with $2.56 million on 221 screens. It only managed second place in Russia, but with $4.92 million on 903. On the other hand, it struggled in South Korea earning third place with $1.30 million on 333 screens over the weekend for a total opening of $1.52 million.
Paranormal Activity 3 fell to fifth place with $14.49 million on 3,480 screens in 43 markets for a total of $51.91 million after two weeks of release. It was mostly floating on holdovers, so the big drop was not a shock. The number one market of the weekend was the U.K. where it added $2.95 million on 415 screens to its total, which now sits at $12.16 million. The film has several more markets ahead of it, including Germany and Japan, so getting to $100 million internationally is still the prime goal.
Speaking of $100 million, Real Steel reached that milestone over the weekend. It earned $13.06 million on 4,196 screens in 32 markets for a total of $106.21 million internationally. The film has yet to open in Germany, Italy, Spain and Japan, so it still has a lot of untapped potential.
The Three Musketeers is closing in on $100 million domestically, adding $12.8 million on 5,300 screens in 66 markets to its total, which reached $84.0 million. It opened in second place in Japan with $3.87 million on 721 screens over the weekend, for a total opening of $4.79 million. This is a good start, but not a great start. On the other hand, it struggled in Mexico with just $812,000 on 528 screens.
Johnny English: Reborn earned eighth place with $12.10 million on 3,652 screens in 49 markets, for a total of $123.89 million. This is likely enough to cover its production budget and print & advertising budget. It opened in third place in Italy, with $1.34 million on 349 screens. On the other hand, it flopped in Brazil earning sixth place with $682,000 on 188 screens. On the positive side, the film made $2.86 million on 506 screens over the weekend for a total of $28.03 million after four.
Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes returned to the chart in ninth place with $10.39 million on 3,300 screens in 8 markets, for a total of $278.86 million after three months of release. Of that, $8.9 million was from 2,600 screens in China.
Filed under: International Box Office, Puss in Boots, The Adventures of Tintin, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, The Three Musketeers, Real Steel, Johnny English Reborn, In Time, Paranormal Activity 3, Ra. One