International Details - Lions are more like Lambs

December 3, 2007

Lions for Lambs climbed a spot to sixth place with $4.34 million on 2453 screens in 53 markets for a total of $25.97 million, while only managing $1 million or more in one market this past weekend, ($1.40 million on 390 screens during its sixth place debut in France). It opens in Italy later this month and Japan in the spring of '08, but there's almost no chance the film will show a profit at this point. Normally one movie losing money isn't a big issue because the studio can rely on one or two monster hits to pay for their misses, (Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix made enough money to pay for the entire budgets of half-a-dozen misses for Warner Bros. this year, and that's before the home market). However, United Artists is a newly relauched studio and they don't have a war chest built up from past victories. Stumbling out of the gate like this hurts.

  • Elizabeth: The Golden Age slipped a spot to seventh despite opening in several markets over the weekend. The biggest of these was South Korea where it earned sixth place with $604,000 on 227 screens over the weekend and $801,000 in total. Overall it made $4.26 million on 1694 screens in 20 markets for a total of $28.24 million so far.
  • Ratatouille fell out of the top five, but it climbed over $400 million internationally. Over the weekend it earned $4.19 million on 2608 screens in 26 markets for a total of $402.62 million internationally and $608.93 million worldwide.
  • Matrimonio Alle Bahamas remained in first place in Italy with $3.86 million on 461 screens over the weekend and $10.00 million in total.
  • Om Shanti Om fell from fourth to tenth, but that was only the result of a 44% drop-off. Also, with $3.51 million on 823 screens in 15 markets over the weekend, it now has $31.03 million in total, which is a monster hit for an Indian film.
  • Speaking of Indian films, Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal opened in 11th place with $3.49 million on 583 screens in 16 markets. This is a good result for this type of film.
  • 1408 returned to the charts in 12th place with $3.19 million on 762 screens in 14 markets for a total of $38.88 million. This includes a third place, $1.96 million opening on just 224 screens in Italy, which gave the film the best per screen average on the charts there. The film has yet to open in Spain, Australia, France, Japan, and other significant markets, but its run so far has been a little disappointing compared to its surprising strength domestically. Psychological horror films don't translate into other cultures as well as torture porn does, but the film's worldwide box office is excellent compared to its small production budget.
  • Lust, Caution continues its strong run with $3.03 million on 696 screens in 15 markets for a total of $39.42 million. Obviously the harsh ratings are not hurting the film as much internationally as it did domestically.
  • Always: Sunset on Third Street 2 returned to first place in Japan and climbed into 14th place internationally with $2.69 million on 382 screens over the weekend for a total of $26.42 million.
  • Fellow Japanese film, Sky Of Love, as right behind with $2.51 million on 290 screens over the weekend and $23.89 million in total.
  • Stardust is still on pace to hit $100 million, barely, and it appears to be losing screens and markets at an accelerated pace. This weekend it added $2.40 million on 1430 screens in 36 markets for a total of $92.59 million.
  • Seven Days climbed into first place during its second weekend in South Korea adding $2.38 million on 290 screens over the weekend for a total of $6.15 million after two.
  • Resident Evil: Extinction plummeted nearly ten places to 18th with $2.28 million on 1177 screens in 35 markets for a total of $90.98 million. The film is aiming for $100 million, which would make it the first in the franchise to do that, but it appears to have run out of markets to do that it.
  • [Rec] opened in third place in Spain with $2.26 million on 275 screens over the weekend, which was enough for 19th place overall.
  • Milano Palermo: Il Ritorno managed 2nd place in Italy and 20th place overall with $2.18 million on 246 screens.
  • Le Grand Chef held strong in second place in South Korea with a weekend total of $2.08 million on 309 screens while its running tally rose to $16.54 million.
  • Les Deux Mondes, which is French for The Two Mondes, managed only fifth place in France with $1.82 million on 471 screens. Adding in the other, much smaller markets and the film made $1.93 million on 510 screens in 3 markets during its international debut.
  • On the other hand, fellow French film, Ce Soir Je Dors Chez Toi, (which means I Like Your House This Evening, if my seven years of high school French still means anything), opened in third place with $1.87 million on 282 screens.
  • Surf's Up added $1.81 million on 1600 screens in 25 markets for a total of $82.16 million. The film opened in Japan in two weeks, but it will need to be a massive here there to cover its $100 million production budget.
  • The Kingdom returned to the charts thanks to a seventh place debut in Spain with $553,000 on 151 screens. Overall it made $1.78 million on 787 screens in 29 markets for an anemic total of $32.96 million.
  • Beyaz Melek, a.k.a., The White Angel, rose into the charts with $1.63 million on 239 screens in 4 markets for a total of $3.66 million. This includes $1.29 million on 200 screens during its second weekend in its native Turkey for a total of $3.06 million there.
  • The Bourne Ultimatum had one of the worst week-to-week drop-offs on the charts down 54% and 14 places, however, it also beat the combined international box offices of the first two installments in the franchise, so no one really cares about a sharp decline at the end. Over the weekend the film added $1.61 million on 531 screens in 19 markets for a total of $207.09 million.
  • Michael Clayton earned $1.56 million on 681 screens in 19 markets for a total of $25.54 million. Not blockbuster numbers, but solid for a smaller release.
  • Come Tu Mi Vuoi earned $1.56 million on 304 screens over the weekend, which was enough for fourth place in Italy and 29th place internationally. It also pushed its total to $9.61 million after three weekends there.
  • Good Luck Chuck was less than a rounding error ahead of 30 Days of Night earning $1.48 million on 687 screens in 14 markets over the weekend and $16.12 million in total. The latter film also took in $1.48 million, but on 954 screens in 16 markets, for a nearly identical total of $16.77 million.
Two other films started their international runs this weekend but missed the charts. Hitmand opened with $1.34 million on 306 screens in 12 markets, mostly smaller markets. Meanwhile, The Mist earned $1.20 million on 286 screens in 3 markets, $1.03 million on that coming from 235 screens in Russia.


-

Filed under: International Box Office, The Bourne Ultimatum, Ratatouille, Surf’s Up, Resident Evil: Extinction, Michael Clayton, The Kingdom, Hitman, Stardust, Good Luck Chuck, The Mist, Elizabeth: The Golden Age, Lions for Lambs, Se jie, Om Shanti Om, Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal, Sky of Love, Le Grand Chef, Matrimonio alle Bahamas, Come tu mi vuoi, Seven Days, [Rec], Milano-Palermo: il ritorno, Beyaz Melek, Ce soir, je dors chez toi, Les deux mondes, 1408, 30 Days of Night, Always zoku san-chôme no yûhi