Audiences didn’t have a lot of new choices, nor a mega late-December blockbuster to ring in the first weekend of the new year at the movies, but the studio titles on offer are still drawing crowds and seeing strong holds, particularly with ongoing holidays in many international box office markets. Milestones are also being set as Warner Bros/Village Roadshow/Heyday Films’ Wonka topped $300M overseas while Disney’s Wish crossed $200M worldwide and AMC touted a new benchmark for Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour.
Though Swift lost out in the new Cinematic and Box Office Achievement category at the Golden Globes on Sunday, her movie has now grossed $261.6M worldwide, overtaking the previous global box office record holder for a documentary, Michael Jackson’s This is It, according to AMC.
The Eras Tour movie, which is also the highest grossing concert film worldwide, is still playing in select theaters domestically and opened in China on December 31, grossing $8.7M through the first week. In IMAX, it’s made $4.3M there, a huge 45% of the China total.
Meanwhile, WB/DC’s Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom was the biggest studio title of the offshore frame with an estimated $30.3M from 77 markets. Amid a good 37% overall drop, Brazil increased by 24% while Netherlands (-1%), Spain (-10%), Germany (-11%), France (-24%), Italy (-29%) and Mexico (-29%) all saw strong holds.
That’s encouraging news with $400M+ global on the cards. Currently, the international cume is $234.8M and worldwide is $334.8M. IMAX this weekend added $2.5M globally, bringing the running tally to $31M.
The Top 5 markets to date are China ($54.3M), Mexico ($17.5M), France ($13.5M), Germany ($13M) and the UK ($10.5M).
Next to release is Japan, on Friday.
Turning to Wonka, the Paul King-directed musical added $28.9M, also in 77 overseas markets. The drop was a terrific 27% and holds are strong including in Netherlands (+6%), Brazil (-16%), France (-17%), Spain (-17%), Italy (-22%), Mexico (-26%), Australia (-26%), Germany (-32%), and Japan (-33%).
The international cume to date is $301.2M with global at $465.8M, well on the way to $500M+ in the coming weeks. IMAX reps $16.1M worldwide. Korea, which has a fondness for Hollywood musicals, is the final market to release and is dated on January 31.
The Top 5 markets so far are the UK ($67.2M), France ($22.7M), Germany ($18.6M), Australia ($18.1M) and Netherlands ($10.9M).
Disney’s Wish reached $209.5M global, getting to the two-century mark in its seventh weekend. This makes it the fourth-highest grossing animated release of 2023 worldwide. Internationally, the drop was good at 26% with another set of strong holds including in the Netherlands (+5%), Germany (-12%), Italy (-16%), Japan (-19%), Australia (-27%), France (-28%), Spain (-33%) and the UK (-40%).
Korea was a new play this session, with Wish coming in at a solid $4.6M for the best Disney or Pixar animated opening since the pandemic. In Brazil, Wish opened at No. 2 with $1.7M, ahead of Encanto, Migration and Elemental. It was No. 1 in Argentina, Chile, Uruguay and Paraguay, also coming in ahead of fellow opener Migration. Summer school holidays are ahead throughout January and February.
The full weekend was $19M in 51 markets for an overseas cume of $146.9M.
Here are the Top 5 markets: France ($19.1M), Japan ($18.5M), Germany ($14.9M), UK ($14.4M) and Italy ($9.2M).
Illumination/Universal’s Migration scooped up another $15.5M in 73 markets for a $72.9M international cume and $150.7M global. The hold overseas was a strong -18% including great results in Austria (+43%), Netherlands (+23%), Belgium (+5%), France (-1%), Germany (-10%) and Australia (-25%).
As staggered release continues, Brazil, Poland, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay were new this session, collectively opening above Sing 2. Still to come through March are Korea, the UK and Japan.
The Top 5 to date are Germany ($11.6M), France ($9.2M), Mexico ($6.7M), Australia ($5.1M) and Spain ($3.4M).
Among new titles, Universal/Blumhouse’s Night Swim, dove into 36 markets with $5.7M, to reach a $17.7M global debut. Mexico gave the horror pic a No. 3 start with $1.1M, above Happy Death Day. The UK launched with $760K, also above Happy Death Day 2U and with strong teen attendance. France started off with $680K, Australia brought in $467K and Saudi Arabia was good for $350K, in line with M3GAN and ranking as the top Hollywood title of the frame there. Still up ahead are majors including Brazil, Germany, Spain, Italy, Korea and Japan.
Sony’s Anyone But You saw terrific uptick in the UK (+49%) and Australia (+4%) and generated $5.4M in the session to bring the overseas cume to $14.7M and the global total to to $58.4M.
The romcom is led so far by Australia with $6.5M, followed by the UK at $4.3M. Rollout continues with Germany, Mexico, Spain, Brazil and Italy all on deck later this month.
A note about Poor Things: the Searchlight pic will hit the bulk of international markets this month but has already opened in Australia (December 26), New Zealand (January 1) and Greece (January 1) with a combined $2.2M to date. It notably bowed No. 1 in Greece, where its $1M running cume makes it the biggest start ever for a Yorgos Lanthimos film. Of the 2023 releases in Greece, only Oppenheimer and Barbie had 4-day non-local openings bigger than Poor Things.
MISC UPDATED CUMES/NOTABLE
*One Life (WB UK only): $4.3M UK opening
Napoleon (SNY): $2.7M intl weekend (61 markets); $152.5M intl cume/$213.4M global
The Holdovers (UNI): $898K intl weekend (6 markets); $2.2M intl cume/$20.7M global
Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie (PAR): $600K intl weekend (19 markets); $137M intl cume/$202.2M global
*The Boys in the Boat (WB): $345K intl weekend (2 markets); $345K intl cume/$34.3M global
*Denotes new
Content Source: deadline.com