International Box Office: Mission: Accomplished
September 17, 2015
Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation rocketed up the chart into first place with $91.3 million in 63 markets over the weekend... sort of. This includes $86.42 million during the film's six-day opening in China. Its three-day weekend number is a lot smaller than that, but still enough for first place. Overall, the film now has $424.8 million internationally and $612.9 million worldwide. It became only the second film in the franchise to reach the $600 million mark worldwide. This is more than enough to break even, so it should come as no surprise that there's another installment in the works.
The Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials got its international run off a week early with $26.8 million in 21 markets. The film's biggest opening came in the U.K., where it settled for second place with $4.36 million in 518 theaters. On the other hand, the film earned first place in Mexico with $3.24 million and in Australia with $2.52 million on 374 screens. The film cracked $2 million in two Southeast Asian markets, Taiwan ($2.28 million on 86 screens) and Hong Kong ($2.05 million on 147). Given these results, the film is on pace for a $30 million to $40 million opening here.
Minions remained in third place with $26.1 million in 58 markets over the weekend for totals of $748.5 million internationally and $1.080 million worldwide. The film broke the weekend record for an animated film in China with $18.85 million. It is important to note that it opened on Sunday, so it broke the three-day weekend total in just one day.
Up next is a German film called Fack ju Göhte 2, which means... you know what? I'm not going to tell you what it means. The film opened in first place in Germany with $19.97 million on 830 screens. ... That's like a $100 million opening here! That's stunning. It also dominated the chart in Austria with $1.45 million on 79 screens. This is good enough that I'm sure some Hollywood studio is already interested in making an English-language remake.
Legend opened in its native U.K. scoring first place with $8.08 million on 522 screens. The film opens here in limited release in December. The reviews suggest it will struggle in limited release, but there is also some buzz that Tom Hardy could earn an Oscar nomination, so that could help.
Inside Out climbed into sixth place with $5.3 million in 35 markets internationally for totals of $395.9 million internationally and $747.4 million million worldwide.
The Transporter Refueled was right behind with $5.2 million in 27 markets for an international total of $12.5 million. It is doing better internationally than it has performed domestically, while it only cost $22 million to make. It might be enough to save the franchise.
Pixels was in a virtual tie for seventh place with $5.2 million in 74 markets for totals of $127.5 million internationally and $202.8 million worldwide. It has likely made enough to cover its entire production budget, meaning it just needs to cover its advertising budget on the home market. This could happen.
Ant-Man was right behind with $5.1 million in 18 markets for totals of $218.6 million internationally and $394.8 million worldwide. It remained in first place in South Korea with $4.99 million on 869 screens over the weekend for a total of $17.08 million after two weeks of release. The film opens in Japan this week and China next month.
Hitman: Agent 47 rounded out the top ten with $5.0 million over the weekend for an international total of $52.5 million and a worldwide total of $74.2 million worldwide.
There are a couple of more films worth talking about. Veteran became the biggest hit of the year in South Korea with $84.18 million overtaking Assassination.
Even better, Monster Hunt broke the all-time record in China with $381.86 million after two full months of release. It overtook Furious 7, which broke the record earlier this year.
Filed under: International Box Office, Ant-Man, Pixels, Minions, Inside Out, Mission: Impossible—Rogue Nation, Hitman: Agent 47, The Transporter Refueled, Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials, Legend, Zhuo yao ji, Assassination, Veteran, Mission: Impossible, Transporter, Tom Hardy