Warner Bros.
Refresh for latest…: After beginning its quest in 62 markets last weekend, Warner Bros/Village Roadshows Ready Player One maintained the high score at the international box office, grossing $81.7M to lead the chart this session. That sets the Steven Spielberg pic on track for $300M overseas and $400M global in the coming days. The total cumes through Sunday are $294.4M offshore with $391.3M worldwide.
Remarkable has been the play in China where this ode to VR and pop-culture has become the No. 1 Hollywood movie of 2018 with $161.3M through Sunday. Its also far and away the top Warner Bros release ever. Propelled by fantastic Middle Kingdom word of mouth, and amped by the Tomb Sweeping holiday at the end of this week, RP1 dipped just 32% over the Friday-Sunday period compared to last frames opening. The local holiday gave Friday a big boost, although today (Sunday) was a workday in lieu. Chinese IMAX crowds have been especially eager to get to the OASIS with a virtual tie between weekends 1 & 2 and a new March record (more below).
Elsewhere, Paramounts A Quiet Place, which announced itself at $50M+ domestically, also made noise in its offshore bow. In 40 markets, the John Krasinski-helmed horror title belted out a $21M opening. Comping in like-for-like markets, the full weekend gross is 79% above the debut of Get Out, 70% ahead of Dont Breathe and on par with Split. Horror fans in Latin America gave the Krasinski/Emily Blunt-starrer strong starts while the UK was the biggest dollar debut at $3.6M. There are many majors to come throughout April and into the summer.
Meanwhile, the vocal stylings of Disney/Pixars Coco are bringing it closer to the $800M worldwide mark, now at $790.1M with continued play in Japan. It was topped there this session by the smoldering intensity of Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle which finally swung into its final market. The opening on the Sony smash was $3.9M on 627 screens to lift the worldwide cume to $950M.
Breakdowns on the films above and more are being updated below.
NEW
A QUIET PLACE
From director/star John Krasinski, Paramount and Platinium Dunes, A Quiet Place debuted to $21M in 40 offshore markets this weekend, including its top play, the UK. This is a terrific start for the story of a family forced to live in silence while hiding from creatures that hunt by sound. The overseas run kicked off in about half of the international footprint with such majors as Russia, Korea, Germany, France and Spain still to release. Theres joy on Melrose as the debut weekend launched 79% ahead of Get Out, 70% above Dont Breathe, 46% brighter than Lights Out and 14% over The Conjuring. It came in on par with last years Split.
The $17M budgeted pic, before P&A, is coming off of a noisy $50M+ domestic start with a 97% Rotten Tomatoes score. Overseas, the marketing campaigns were highly localized and focused on the notion of protecting your family. Themed stunt screenings were held for media, influencers, tastemakers and fans with the living in silence and rules of survival concepts front and center. The “Quiet Theater” no talking/no texting PSA ran in 60 countries while the “Be Careful Where You Step” mobile game was localized in 37 markets. Digital influencer programs also challenged folks to spend a day in silence.
Real-life couple Krasinski and Emily Blunt also did their bit in the UK, charming audiences with a sit-down on Graham Nortons couch last weekend to talk up the film. That was the biggest offshore market for A Quiet Place at $3.6M on 526 screens for 83% above Dont Breathe and 66% above Lights Out.
In Latin America, which leans into horror, the movie is the first of the genre to receive the highly respected “Guarantia” label from exhibitor Cinepolis. Mexico gave A Quiet Place a No. 1 debut with $2.7M at 700 cinemas. Thats 204% above Get Out, 76% above Dont Breathe, 24% above Lights Out and 3% above Split. Australia came in 3rd at No. 3 with $2M at 219 sites, notably topping Lights Out by 114%; Brazil bowed No. 2 with $1.9M from 464, topping Get Out by 132% and Split by 22%. Taiwan was next with $1.1M at No. 2 from 85 and 65% above Dont Breathe, 21% above Lights Out and 5% above Get Out. It came in 14% below The Conjuring and 54% below Split.
No. 1s include Malaysia ($760K/130 cinemas), Thailand ($663K/60), UAE ($575K/48), Argentina ($463K/165) and Colombia ($394K/184).
At historical rates, Get Out finaled with $79M internationally, Split at $140M, Dont Breathe at $68M, Lights Out with $81.6M and The Conjuring at $182M. Expect the European majors to be intrigued when the title reaches their cinemas.
HOLDOVERS/EXPANSIONS
READY PLAYER ONE
With an $87.1M sophomore session in 65 markets, Steven Spielbergs Ready Player One is nearing $300M offshore and $400M global box office. The current cumes through Sunday are $294.4M overseas with $391.3M worldwide. The global IMAX cume is $40.6M while RealD estimates that through Sunday, 60.2% of the total box office has come from 3D ticket sales — $66.5M was generated at RealD equipped locations.
The Warner Bros/Village Roadshow spectacle is still in honeymoon phase in China where the running total is $161.3M (RMB 1B) making it WBs biggest movie ever in the market. This weekend added $42M on about 20K screens.
The drop was just 32% which is a fantastic hold in the Middle Kingdom where its been spurred on by great word of mouth, an 8.9 and 9.1 on Douban and Maoyan, the gaming culture and the nostalgia. Its still a hot topic on social media, particularly the Easter eggs throughout.
Chinese IMAX crowds have been especially eager to get to the OASIS with a virtual tie between weekends 1 & 2. The total there is $17.3M. RP1 on Saturday also became IMAXs first March release to surpass RMB 100M in China and the first U.S. title to reach the milestone in the format there this year.
Overall, RP1 held a firm grip on the top spot offshore, dipping just 35% in the combined holdover markets (excluding China). It also opened tops in Germany, and stayed No. 1 in key hubs like France, Italy, Holland, Scandinavia, Taiwan and Hong Kong.
In Asia Pacific, the movie ranked No. 1 with a 30% drop which was helped by the Tomb Sweeping holiday that ran Thursday-Saturday. Western Europe dropped 42% and Lat Am dipped 45%.
Behind China, the weekends next best performers were Korea ($4.6M/888 screens/$14.2M cume); the UK ($3.24M/ 893 screens/$16.1M); France ($3.16M/713 screens/$11.4M); and Germany at open ($3.1M/866 screens).
Also notable, Hong Kongs $4.1M running total is the 3rd best for a Spielberg title behind Jurassic Park and The Lost World. The last key market to open will be Japan on April 20.
PETER RABBIT
Bouncing out of the Easter holidays, Sonys Peter Rabbit has added $19.2M eggs to his basket in 59 total markets. The international cume is now $160.5M for $273.8M worldwide. In the UK, the Beatrix Potter adaptation has been hare-raisingly good with a No. 1 hold for the 4th consecutive frame. Thats after it beat the opening of Ready Player One last session and as it continues to lead. The cume there is now $44.8M.
In new plays, France debuted at No. 2 with $2.5M including previews. Holds were notably strong in Belgium (+52%), Israel (+35%), Sweden (+18%), Bahrain (-5%), Qatar (-11%), South Africa (-14%), Australia (-25%), Kuwait (-27%) Portugal (-27%), Hong Kong (-29%), Finland (-30%), UAE (-30%) and Bulgaria (-31%).
Still to come are Korea and Japan in May.
MORE…
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