International Box Office: Little Leads the Way, Maybe

December 29, 2010

With Christmas just behind us and New Year's Day just ahead, a lot of studios are on vacation, so there are not a lot of details when it comes to box office numbers and we are stuck with studio estimates for the most part. According to these estimates, Little Fockers took top spot with $27 million on 3933 screens in 37 markets during its opening. However, it was such a tight race that once final figures are in, it might slip to second, or even third. Its biggest market was the U.K., where it opened in first place with $7.3 million on 487 screens. By comparison, Meet the Parents made twice that during its debut in 2005. Ouch.

Tron: Legacy was right behind with $26.6 million on 5475 screens in 34 markets for an early total of $65.5 million. This includes $7.8 million on 682 screens in Russia and $3.3 million on 624 in Mexico. Add in in a strong hold in Japan with $2.7 million on 515 screens over the weekend for a total of $11 million after two, and the film is off to a good start and it should cross $100 million shortly. On the other hand, it was a very expensive movie to make, so it will need a lot more than $100 million internationally to be a success.

The Voyage Of The Dawn Treader was third with $25.5 million, at least it was third according to studio estimates, but it could remain in top spot once the final numbers are in. It's currently playing on 8360 screens in 66 markets, while its running tally grew to $168.6 million after four weeks of release. This is more than it will earn domestically, but it is already shedding screens, and that's not a good sign.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I is closing in on $600 million internationally after earning $15.1 million on 8000 screens in 62 markets for a total of $587 million. By the time the holidays are over, it should have reached that milestone, while in the end it should finish north of $900 million worldwide.

It was a milestone weekend for Megamind, as it added $11.6 million on 4961 screens in 45 markets for a total of $109 million internationally and $252 million worldwide. That's enough to suggest the film will break even sometime during its home market run, but not enough to justify a sequel.

Tangled also reached $100 million internationally since last weekend, but it is much earlier in its run. Meanwhile over the weekend it made $9.5 million on 4158 screens in 18 markets for a total of $118 million internationally and $260 million worldwide. It has yet to open wide in Australia, or debut in Brazil, Spain, Japan, the U.K., Scandinavia, etc., so it has plenty of opportunities to add to its total. It will need to make at least $400 million worldwide to break even any time soon; however, to be fair, the studio spent $100 million on Rapunzel before axing that movie and starting from scratch on Tangled. Taking that into account, Tangled might break even before hitting the home market.


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Filed under: International Box Office, Little Fockers, Tron: Legacy, Tangled, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Megamind