International Box Office: Furious Goes from Zero to $500 million in one Weekend
April 19, 2017
The Fate of the Furious dominated in the international chart with $433.2 million in 63 markets. This is the biggest international weekend of all time, beating the previous record holder, Jurassic World, by over $100 million. Interestingly, both of these films were released by Universal. Furthermore, the film has already topped the international totals of all but the two more recent installments in the Fast and the Furious franchise. On the downside, the international opening weekend record isn’t the most prestigious record, because it depends a lot of how wide a release a film has. For instance, The Fate of the Furious opened in all but four markets this past weekend and of the remaining markets, only Japan is a significant market. The film has the number one overall international weekend, but only broke weekend records in 20 of the 63 individual markets and only one of those markets could be considered a major market. That one market was China.
The Fate of the Furious had the biggest opening weekend of all time in China, pulling in $185.37 million, $194.46 million including previews. Some are reporting that this is the second biggest opening weekend and that The Mermaid actually holds that record. However, The Mermaid’s record includes week day box office numbers and its three-day weekend is substantially lower at $122.21 million. The film set the record for Universal in a couple of other major markets: Mexico ($17.7 million) and Brazil ($12.8 million). It also broke the record for the franchise in both the U.K. ($17.94 million on 572 screens) and South Korea ($8.01 million on 1,468 screens for a total opening of $10.53 million). Other major market openings include Russia ($14.14 million on 1,470 screens); Germany ($13.6 million); India ($10.7 million); and Australia ($7.63 million on 697 screens over the weekend for a total opening of $9.62 million).
On the downside, The Fate of the Furious cost an incredible amount of money to get into theaters. The production budget was $250 million and I wouldn’t be surprised if the studio spent $150 million on advertising. Looking at how much the movie made and where. I estimate Universal’s share of this box office is $180 million to $190 million. The film will need to crack $1 billion worldwide to have any shot at breaking even in the short term. Fortunately, that is nearly guaranteed after a start like this.
The Boss Baby remained in second place with $36.8 million in 61 markets for totals of $171.1 million internationally and $287.9 million worldwide. Its biggest new market was Spain, where it earned second place with $4.3 million. Its biggest market overall was the U.K. with $4.54 million in 606 theaters over the weekend for a two-week total of $20.97 million. The film still has a few more major markets left to open in, so it will have no trouble breaking even during its initial push on the home market.
Beauty and the Beast remained in third place with $22.0 million in 56 markets for totals of $588.4 million internationally and $1.043 billion worldwide. It is the biggest film of 2017, so far, while by the end of the weekend, it was the 22nd biggest hit of all time. It has already climbed a spot since then and it about to hit the top 20. The film opens in Japan this weekend, so it will keep climbing. That said, unless it is a $100 million hit in Japan, it likely won’t reach the top ten on the All-Time Worldwide Box-Office chart.
There was not a lot of movement in the top five, as Smurfs: The Lost Village was stuck in fourth place with $16.24 million on 10,793 screens in 77 markets for totals of $70.82 million internationally and $95.76 million worldwide. There were no major market openings this past weekend, but it actually grew in a couple of major markets. It rose by 25% in France earning $1.88 million on 589 screens over the weekend for a two-week total of $4.78 million and it went up by 33% in Germany to $1.53 million on 1,165 screens over the weekend for a total of $3.99 million after two weeks of release.
A Chinese Odyssey Part Two: Cinderella was re-released in China earning second place with $12.94 million over the weekend for a four-day opening of $17.40 million.
Ghost in the Shell fell from first to sixth with $8.3 million in 56 markets for totals of $115.1 million internationally and $152.2 million worldwide. The film has made more internationally than it cost to make, but it would take a minor miracle to break even at this point.
Filed under: International Box Office, Smurfs: The Lost Village, The Boss Baby, Ghost in the Shell, Beauty and the Beast, The Fate of the Furious, Sai yau gei: Sin leui kei yun, Fast and the Furious