International Box Office: Battle on the High Seas

April 26, 2012

For the second weekend in a row, Battleship and Titanic 3D were battling for top spot on the international chart, but this week Battleship came out on top. It managed $60 million on 9,038 screens in 50 markets for an early total of $131.1 million. The film opened in second place in China with $17 million on 2,287 screens, while it placed first in Russia with $11.20 million on 809. It also maintained first place in a trio of major markets, led by South Korea with $3.44 million on 624 screens over the weekend for a total of $12.68 million. It also repeated on top in Germany ($2.16 million on 637 screens for a total of $7.39 million) and in the U.K. ($2.06 million on 497 screens for a total of $9.80 million).

Titanic 3D fell to second place with $34.3 million on 9,327 screens in 70 markets for a total of $225.7 million after three weeks of release. It added $24.6 million on 3,500 screens in China for a two-week total of $105.2 million. It is very impressive for a film to earn $100 million in a single international market, but it makes sense it will do so in this market, as China wasn't a factor when the film originally came out in 1997. For the vast majority of the population there, this is the first chance to see the film on the big screen. While the studio is obviously happy to get the money, I don't think other studios should use this as justification to convert other films into 3-D. On the other hand, even without China, the film will make close to $200 million worldwide, which is more than enough to show a profit.

The Hunger Games rose to third place with $14.5 million on 4,400 screens in 71 markets for a total of $215.8 million internationally and $572.9 million worldwide. It opened in first place in Spain with $3.92 million on 377 screens. The film opens in Italy next weekend and should get to $600 million worldwide by then.

American Reunion added $10.1 million over the weekend for a total of $56.7 million so far. This is better than the previous installment in the franchise did, but it is weaker than the franchise average.

There were no other $10 million films, but Wrath of the Titans did reach $200 million internationally.

Next week it will be a lot more interesting, as The Avengers starts its international run a week ahead of its domestic run. In fact, it is already in theaters in a number of markets and is showing near-record and even some record-breaking starts. Given this start, it is becoming more likely that this film will top The Hunger Games at the domestic box office, but it could be close.


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Filed under: International Box Office, Titanic, Battleship, The Avengers, Wrath of the Titans, The Hunger Games, American Reunion