Narnia has Heavenly Start, but Potter Pulls off Another Victory

December 14, 2005

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire took a bit of a tumble at the international box office this weekend, but that is understandable since it only had one new opening and the competition was much steeper this weekend. Overall the film added $53.13 million on nearly 11,000 screens in 58 markets for a running tally of $415 million internationally and $659 million worldwide. Both of those figures represent the second best for the year, and the film is now in 17th place internationally and 23rd worldwide all-time. In the film's only opening, it did break industry records, earning $837,000 on 37 screens in Israel, including previews. Other big takes include $11 million on 950 screens during its second weekend in France for a $32.9 million total in the market. It dropped just 13% during its sophomore stint in South Korea, which is a nearly unheard of drop-off; the film made $4.5 million on 486 screens over the weekend and $12.9 million overall. The U.K. is still the film's best market with just shy of $70 million so far, including $3.5m on 1,050 screens this weekend.

13 was a lucky number for The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. It opened in that many markets over the weekend, and also had that many first place finishes. Its biggest market was the U.K., which is no surprise since C.S. Lewis was from the area; in the market the film earned $14.11 million on 498 over the weekend and $15.60 million in total. In Germany the film started its run with a $5.99 million haul on 1056 screens, while in Spain it brought in $4.72 million over the weekend and $7.18 million in total. Other million dollar markets include $1.4 million on 232 screens in Brazil, $1.1 million on 89 in Austria, $1.04 million on 107 screens in New Zealand, and $1.03 million on 97 in Switzerland. Add it all up and the film made $40.54 million on 3,424 screens in 13 markets, which is a fantastic start.

Chicken Little opened in France with a $4.5 million on 420 screens, which helped the film climb a spot to third with $9.55 million on 3,630 screens for a total of $56.23 million so far. The film also opened in Argentina with $765,000 on 120 screens, the second best opening for an animated film in that market.

The Exorcism of Emily Rose fell to fifth place with $5.36 million on 2,555 screens in 58 markets for an international total of $51.96 million. It opened in France, but could only score a sixth place finish with $1 million on 232 screens.

It was a close race for fourth place with Mr. and Mrs. Smith behind by just $100,000, earning $5.27 million on 900 screens in Japan and Italy. In the latter market the film was down 40% to $1.75 million on 517 screens for a total of $6.64 million after two weeks. In Japan it was down 32% to $3.52 million, which is a larger drop-off than usual for the market. Overall the film now has $262.14 million internationally and $449 million worldwide.

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Filed under: International Box Office, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Chicken Little, The Exorcism of Emily Rose