International Top Five - Mummy Ends Summer on Strong Note
August 6, 2008
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor started its international run in about a third of the world scoring first place with $61.93 million on 4094 screens in 27 markets. This includes $9.24 million on 723 screens in South Korea over the weekend, and $13.11 million in total, which represents the best opening for a non-local film this year. The film was also fantastic in its opening in Russia scoring a reported $12.7 million there. Meanwhile in Spain it pulled in $6.48 million on 554 screens while in Mexico it earned $4.99 million on 430 screens, finishing first by significant margins in both markets. Next up for the film is the U.K., France, and Germany this weekend, Japan next weekend, while it doesn't end its run till September when it debuts in Italy.
The Dark Knight fell to second place with $38.78 million on 5894 screens in 50 markets for a total of $201.41 million internationally and $595.16 million worldwide. The film had no new openings this weekend, but did remain in top spot in the U.K. with $13.26 million on 510 screens over the weekend for a total of $49.76 million in total. Meanwhile, the film became the biggest hit of the year in Australia with $31.29 million, including $4.38 million on 465 screens over the weekend. Next week, The Dark Knight opens in Japan and South Korea, while the weekend after that it opens in France, Spain, and Russia. At that moment we will have a better idea of where the film is heading for, but $1 billion worldwide is certainly a big target at the moment.
Mamma Mia! continues to perform remaining in third place with $16.49 million on 2413 screens in 23 markets for a total of $142.64 million. No major openings did not hurt the film as it climbed 12% in the U.K. to $6.23 million over the weekend on 519 screens for $60.48 million in total. It also held strong in Germany down a reported 7% to $2.7 million on 610 screens over the weekend for a total of 16 million after three. Finally, in Australia the film just failed to reach $20 million after four weeks of release with $2.25 million on 328 screens over the weekend and $19.95 million in total.
WALL-E climbed to fourth place with $15.52 million on 2901 screens in 26 markets for a total of $94.96 million. The film was aided by a $7.2 million opening on 700 screens in France, which is not as much as Ratatouille opened with, but that movie was set in France. It was more than twice as much as Cars debuted with, which is a good sign going forward. Meanwhile in the U.K., the film earned $4.04 million on 488 screens over the weekend for a total of $26.69 million after three. This is close to 30% below Ratatouille's pace, but roughly 30% above the pace of Cars.
Rounding out the top five is Kung Fu Panda with $13.47 million on 6217 screens in 53 markets, which lifted the film's running tally to $330.65 million, and it was able to do this without a single major market opening. It was down a mere 4% in the U.K. adding $1.24 million on 464 screens over the weekend for a total of $33.58 million after a month of release, on the other hand.
Filed under: International Box Office, The Dark Knight, WALL-E, Kung Fu Panda, Mamma Mia!, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor