International Box Office: Swan and Speech Have Unlimited Success
February 23, 2011
As I've stated in the past, it is quite rare for a film that opened in limited release in the United States to go on and have success internationally. Most markets are simply too small to have the infrastructure to support limited releases. So it's quite a pleasant surprise to find two such films atop the international box office. Leading the way for the second weekend in a row is Black Swan, this time earning $17.60 million on 3,699 screens in 39 markets. In total it has $98.24 million and it has likely already reached the century mark. It opened in first place in Spain with $2.91 million on 296 screens, but it was not as strong in Italy with $1.50 million on 257 screens, which was only enough for third place. Oscar contenders tend to perform really well in Italy, so this is a bit of a disappointment. As far as holdovers are concerned, the film was down just 18% in France, adding $3.82 million on 338 screens over the weekend for a total of $9.77 million after just two weeks of release.
The King's Speech climbed into second place with $16.45 million on 2,786 screens in 38 markets for a total of $134.30 million internationally and $237.54 million worldwide. It opened in third place in Germany with $2.30 million on 253 screens, which is good, but not great. On the other hand, the film has made $60.20 million in the U.K., including $2.73 million on 507 screens this past weekend. In the end, that one market might be enough cover the film's production and worldwide P&A budgets, so everything else will be gravy.
Tangled is entering its fourth month of release, but it is barely slowing down. It remained in third place with $11.51 million on 4,052 screens in 50 markets for a total of $329.35 million internationally and $523.44 million worldwide. More impressively, it's relying on holdovers, and will till it debuts in Japan next month.
There was a glut of five films earning between $10 million and $11 million on the international chart this weekend. Leading this quintet was No Strings Attached in fourth place with $10.90 million on 1,822 screens in 31 markets for a total of $21.87 million. The film opened in Germany, but could do no better than fourth place with $1.56 million on 326 screens over the weekend and $1.85 million in total. In France it managed just seventh place with $2.62 million on 301 screens. On the other hand, it has $5.05 million in just two weeks in Australia, including $1.45 million on 254 screens this weekend. Also, since it was a surprise hit Stateside, even if it struggles internationally, profitability is all but assured.
Gnomeo & Juliet was all over the place, earning first place in Australia with $2.07 million on 222 screens and second place in Russia with $2.40 million on 830, But it missed the top ten in France with a mere $1.21 million on 365. Overall it made $10.49 million on 2,461 screens in 17 markets for an early total of $18.18 million. It will take a few more weeks before we get a clear picture where its going to end up.
Yogi Bear was rose a spot to sixth with $10.32 million on 3,607 screens in 42 markets for a total of $74.80 million internationally. It opened in fourth place in Spain with $1.81 million on 187 screens, which gave it an impressive per screen average, even if its total was middling. It did hold on rather well in the U.K. down just 25% to $2.22 million on 467 screens over the weekend for a total of $6.26 million after two.
Nothing To Declare fell to seventh spot with $10.20 million on 1,126 screens in 4 markets for a total of $59.41 million after three weeks of release. It remained dominant in France, adding $8.27 million on 1,034 screens over the weekend for a running tally of $47.25 million.
True Grit added $10.08 million on 2,581 screens in 37 markets for a total of $28.99 million. It opened in fourth place in Italy with $1.42 million on 317 screens, which is weaker than expected. Meanwhile it remained in fourth place in the U.K. with $2.38 million on 377 screens over the weekend for a total of $7.39 million after two.
Next up was Paul with $8.94 million on 429 screens, all of which came from the U.K. It dominated that market, earning first place with roughly the same as the next three films combined. This bodes well for its debut here, although its humor might be "too British" to thrive here.
Filed under: International Box Office, Tangled, Gnomeo and Juliet, Yogi Bear, True Grit, Paul, Black Swan, The King’s Speech, No Strings Attached