International Top of the Charts - Furious Ferric Debut

May 7, 2008

Iron Man became the first worldwide smash hit of the year, opening with $98.59 million on 7,588 screens in 56 markets internationally, for a total of $200.71 million worldwide. Even if it only makes $200 million more during the rest of its box office run, it will still make enough to show a profit during its initial push into the home market. Its challenge is that it was truly a worldwide opening, which leaves it with very few additional markets. With a high level of competition coming up, it is unlikely to stay on top for very long.

The film did well in almost all major markets. It's biggest debut came from the U.K. where it opened in first place with $10.75 million on 500 screens. It scored first place in France with $6.95 million on 667 screens and also topped the charts in South Korea with $5.92 million on 679 screens over the weekend for a total of $8.39 million. It was unbeatable in Australia with $5.84 million and set the record in Mexico for biggest Wednesday debut on its way to earning $9.58 million on 365 screens over 5 days. It was more subdued in Germany ($3.45 million on 632 screens), Spain ($3.37 million on 559 screens over the weekend and $6.16 million in total), and Italy ($3.22 million on 509 screens over the weekend and $5.02 million in total). Nonetheless, it still managed first place in all three markets.

In fact, the only major market where it didn't debut in first over the weekend place was Japan, where it doesn't open until September. (Also, box office numbers for China and Russia are not finalized at this time.)

The film also cracked $1 million in a number of mid-sized markets, which includes, but is not limited to...

  • Brazil: $3.42 million on 569 screens over the weekend and $5.71 million in total
  • Philippines: $1.75 million on 209 screens
  • Singapore: $1.54 million on 64 screens over the weekend and $1.97 million in total
  • Malaysia: $1.36 million on 93 screens over the weekend and $1.70 million in total
  • New Zealand: $1.01 million on 73 screens
With the release of Iron Man, we've moved into our summer schedule so look for the rest of the international charts on Sunday while this time next week we will be looking at the worldwide release of Speed Racer.

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Filed under: International Box Office, Iron Man