International Box Office Highlights: The international box office has once again witnessed a bustling weekend filled with milestones, strong performances, fresh entrants, and local-language successes. Following its impressive debut in Korea, Christopher Nolan and Universal’s “Oppenheimer” continue to lead the pack, collecting $32 million across 80 markets. This has propelled its worldwide earnings past the $700 million mark, as we had previously predicted.
Over at Warner Bros., there’s plenty to report. “Barbie” has contributed a substantial $26.7 million across 75 markets, pushing its global earnings to a staggering $1.279 billion. The collaborative effort with China, “Meg 2”: The Trench,” has also achieved the milestone of surpassing $300 million worldwide. Another new release, “Blue Beetle,” a DC production, made a solid debut with $18 million across 63 international markets. Meanwhile, local films in China and India are also making waves (details below).
Speaking of the new entry, “Blue Beetle,” from Warner Bros./DC, managed to secure an $18 million opening across 63 markets, falling in line with the projected range. The film, starring Xolo Maridueña, emerged as the No. 1 title in 17 markets. When combined with its domestic performance, “Blue Beetle” has managed a global debut of $43.4 million.
Regionally, “Blue Beetle” achieved success in Latin America, outperforming “Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves” by 27% and “The Suicide Squad” by 26%. It also claimed the top spot in numerous Asian markets, including Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Taiwan, the Philippines, Singapore, and Vietnam. While Western Europe demonstrated mixed results, France and Italy exceeded expectations.
Breaking down the numbers, Mexico led with impressive earnings of $2.7 million, surpassing comparable titles by 478% and exceeding “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem.” Brazil’s opening earnings stood at $2.1 million, matching “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” and surpassing “The Suicide Squad” by 42%. Notable performances included France and the UK, both earning $1.5 million, with the former matching “The Suicide Squad” and the latter aligning with “Into the Spider-Verse.” Notably, Indonesia opened at $1.2 million, commanding a 55% market share and surpassing “Into the Spider-Verse” by 50%, “The Suicide Squad” by 964%, and “TMNTMM” by over 2,000%.
Excitement is still building with 12 markets awaiting the film’s release, including the Middle East this week and Australia in September.
Turning our attention to returning films, “Oppenheimer,” as anticipated, crossed the $700 million global mark on Saturday, currently standing at an estimated $717.8 million. Impressively, just five weeks since release, the film has already claimed the spot of Nolan’s fourth highest-grossing work globally, surpassing “Interstellar.” Globally, “Oppenheimer” ranks fourth in 2023, trailing “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” “Barbie,” and “Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3.”
The ongoing international frame recorded $32 million across 80 markets, contributing to an offshore total of $432.6 million to date. When adjusted for inflation and excluding unreleased markets, “Oppenheimer” emerges as Nolan’s highest-grossing international film.
Furthermore, “Oppenheimer” holds the distinction of being Nolan’s highest-grossing film in 51 markets. Notably, the film made a spectacular debut in Korea, setting records as the biggest launch day for a Nolan film and the largest Hollywood opening day of the year. The six-day opening weekend earnings of $12.6 million position it as the second biggest opening weekend for a Nolan film, following only “The Dark Knight Rises.” Additionally, it claimed the title of the largest Hollywood drama opening ever and the third biggest Hollywood debut of the year. The standard four-day weekend performance surpassed “Inception,” nearly doubling “The Dark Knight,” and more than doubling “Tenet.”
Impressively, the film has already outperformed “No Time To Die.” Notable achievements include the UK, with earnings of $63.9 million, aligning with “The Dark Knight Rises” and “Dunkirk.” The IMAX earnings of $13 million have even surpassed “Avatar: The Way of Water,” ranking second among the highest-grossing IMAX titles after “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.”
Earnings remain strong in Germany ($39.5 million), France ($31.2 million), Australia ($22.9 million), and the Netherlands ($16.1 million, with a minor 28% drop).
Globally, the IMAX earnings have reached $146.4 million, making “Oppenheimer” the fifth highest-grossing IMAX title. Notably, the top four IMAX films have each surpassed $2 billion in worldwide box office earnings, while “Oppenheimer” currently stands at $718 million.
Internationally, the IMAX earnings amount to $65.6 million, marking Nolan’s most successful outcome in this format and ranking seventh globally (third in like-for-like markets, trailing only “Avatar” 1&2).
Anticipated upcoming releases include “Oppenheimer” in Italy and Greece, with a China release scheduled for August 30.
The iconic character Barbie continues to captivate audiences, demonstrating remarkable strength. In its fifth weekend, “Barbie” contributed $26.7 million across 75 markets, achieving a 42% decline. The overseas earnings have now reached $711.9 million, contributing to an impressive global total of $1.279 billion.
Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie’s collaboration has earned the distinction of being Warner Bros.’ second highest-grossing film globally and the fifth highest internationally. It holds the title of the highest-grossing film for the studio in 30 markets, including the UK, Brazil, Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, and Poland. The top five overseas markets for “Barbie” through Sunday are the UK ($109.6 million), Mexico ($53.2 million), Australia ($51.1 million), Germany ($47.4 million), and Brazil ($43 million).
Meanwhile, Warner Bros.’ “Meg 2: The Trench” achieved a noteworthy $21.9 million in its third weekend across 76 markets. The film’s cumulative international earnings have now reached $250.1 million, contributing to a global total of $316.6 million. China remains the dominant market with $106.3 million, followed by Mexico ($18.3 million), the UK ($12.5 million), France ($9.9 million), and Spain ($9.8 million). Japan’s release is scheduled for August 25.
Sony’s “Gran Turismo: Based on a True Story” registered a sophomore weekend earnings of $6.3 million, with a marginal 37% decline across 34 initial international markets. The film aims to build momentum as it gears up for a wider release. Cumulatively, overseas earnings have reached $22.7 million. Notable achievements include strong holds in the UAE (+36%), Kuwait (-12%), Qatar (-16%), Saudi Arabia (-29%), and France (-29%). Brazil and Mexico are set to release next week, followed by China, Japan, Italy, and Korea in September.
Paramount/Skydance’s “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One” added another $6.2 million across 67 markets, reflecting a 45% drop. The film’s cumulative offshore earnings have now reached $376.4 million, contributing to a global total of $541 million. Notably, Japan remains the leader, with cumulative earnings of $31.5 million, closely followed by the UK at $32.3 million.
Disney/Pixar’s “Elemental” continued to perform well, earning an additional $5.9 million across 51 markets. This elevated its overseas earnings to $307.2 million and its global total to $458.3 million. Notable markets include Korea ($52.4 million), the UK ($20.8 million), Mexico ($20.7 million), France ($20.7 million), and China ($15.9 million).
Among local titles, “Gadar 2” from India maintained its momentum, securing an estimated $13.3 million in its second weekend, marking the second-best second weekend ever for a Bollywood film. Its cumulative earnings now stand at $54 million (448 crore). The film holds the distinction of being the fourth highest-grossing Bollywood movie in India, following “Pathaan,” “Dangal,” and “PK.” Additionally, “Jailer” added an estimated $7.25 million in its sophomore weekend, reaching a local cumulative total of $40 million.
China’s “No More Bets” earned an estimated $65 million, leading to a cumulative total of $376 million. Maoyan projects that the Super Lion title could ultimately reach $520 million or more, positioning it as the third highest-grossing movie in the market for the year. The IMAX earnings for this film amount to $9.7 million. With this weekend’s performance, 2023 officially becomes the biggest year ever for IMAX in terms of local-language releases, with earnings reaching $184 million and still more than four months to go.
Additional Cumulative Earnings Updates:
“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem” (PAR): $4.8 million international weekend (47 markets); $30.3 million international cumulative / $118.4 million global
“Strays” (UNI): $2 million international weekend (21 markets); $2 million international cumulative / $10.3 million global
“Haunted Mansion” (DIS): $1.4 million international weekend (45 markets); $26.4 million international cumulative / $85.2 million global.