Outside of China and the strong start for Lunar New Year titles, it was a fairly sleepy weekend at the international box office. There was some expansion and one new studio entry while most of the rest of the field is made up of holdovers from the end of last year. And yet, we’ve got some new benchmarks to note.
To wit, Disney’s Moana 2, as it nears the end of its run, has now surpassed Finding Dory and Despicable Me 3 to become the No. 9 animated release of all time globally with $1.037B ($1,036.8M precisely, see weekend details below).
Meanwhile, Disney, Mufasa: The Lion King has topped $650M worldwide, now with $653M. In its 7th weekend, it added another $11.7M from the international box office, a slight 29% dip versus last frame. The overseas cume is $423.5M. The Top 5 markets are France ($39.5M), UK ($36.6M), Germany ($29.3M), Mexico ($29.1M) and Italy ($23.4M).
Continuing to make hay (or perhaps marmalade in this case), and ahead of its domestic release, Studiocanal’s Paddington in Peru charmed another $8.7M from 51 overseas markets including 42 released by Sony. The offshore cume is now approaching $100M with $93.2M through Sunday. Paddington heads to North America on Valentine’s Day.
Last weekend, we noted that Paramount’s Sonic the Hedgehog 3 was on its way across $450M and that’s come to pass with worldwide now at $462.5M. This is after the little critter grabbed a further $7M this frame in 65 overseas markets for a 38% dip and a $232M offshore cume.
Tops to date are: UK ($30.1M), Mexico ($21.7M), France ($19M), Australia ($18.2M) and Brazil ($12.9M).
In new fare, New Line/Warner Bros’ horror pic Companion debuted in 60 offshore markets with $5.5M for a $15M global start. The UK was the lead market at $919K. From writer/director Drew Hancock, the $10M R-rated title is out in about 80% of the international footprint with seven more markets to come including Germany, Brazil and Korea.
And, Universal/DreamWorks Animation’s top pooch domestically, Dog Man, is on staggered release overseas, expanding to 29 new markets this frame after opening in just one last session. The weekend added $4.2M for a $4.6M international cume through Sunday. Spain was leader of the pack at $1.1M and a clear No. 1. Several majors are still to open including the UK and Brazil this month, and Australia, France, Germany and Korea through April. The global total after this session is $40.6M.
Also of note, Searchlight’s A Complete Unknown held the No. 1 spot in the UK for the third frame in a row. The Timothée Chalamet-starrer bowed at No. 1 in France this session and has cumed $20.7M overseas for $87.4M global (details to follow).
MISC UPDATED CUMES/NOTABLE
Moana 2 (DIS): $4.3M intl weekend (52 markets); $582.9M intl cume/$1,036.8M global
Conclave (FNE): $2.8M intl weekend (40 markets); $58.9M intl cume/$91M global
The Brutalist (UNI): $2.6M intl weekend (15 markets); $6.12M intl cume/$18.2M global
Nosferatu (UNI): $2.4M intl weekend (65 markets); $77.5M intl cume/$172.2M global
The Three Investigators: Carpathian Dog (SNY): $1.9M intl weekend (4 markets); $5.2M intl cume
I’m Still Here (SNY): $1M intl weekend (2 markets); $16.5M intl cume
Better Man (PAR): $520K intl weekend (France only); $1.6M France cume
Gladiator II (PAR): $450K intl weekend (38 markets); $288.9M intl cume/$461.3M global
*September 5 (PAR): $240K intl weekend (5 markets); $240K intl cume/$560K global
*Denotes New