Kingdom's Reign Cruel to Competition

May 16, 2005

Note: This week's list is substantially shorter than usual because of the worldwide release of Kingdom of Heaven. Since that film opened in nearly every market, and in nearly every market that was the only major film to open, there's little in the way of details being reported. This trend is likely to continue till late summer as blockbuster after blockbuster should dominate the marketplace.

The summer got off to a really, really slow start international this week and while Kingdom of Heaven didn't wasn't quite the blockbuster most people were looking for, it did cannibalized what little box office there was. There were a few local films to make noise, including Negotiator: Bayside Shakedown 3, which easily topped the Japanese market with $5,275,685 on just 280 for a huge $18,842 per screen average.

  • Tears of Blood debuted in top spot in South Korea with $3,169,439 on 323 screens over the weekend and $5,349,164 since its midweek debut.
  • Shall We Dance? is holding up well in Japan as it added $1,398,819 to its $13,173,724 total in the market. It opened in third place in France with $1.4 million and second place in Belgium, (box office figure unknown) giving the film $3 million for the weekend and $96 million total.
  • Constantine was able to add $1.48 million on 322 screens in 34 markets to its international total of $148.6 million. The vast majority of that came from Japan where it managed $1,300,591 for a $21,126,405 total in the market.
  • The Amityville Horror brought in $1.43 million on 770 screens in three markets to push its international total to $13.1 million.
  • Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events opened in it final market, Japan, but it failed to make an impact. The film made $1,049,035 on 319 screens over the 2-day weekend, well below the $5000 per screen usually signifies a film will have legs. Since the film opened on May the 3rd, it managed $4,301,160, pushing its international total to $81.1 million and its worldwide total to $199.7 million.
  • Hitch is coasting on holdovers bringing in another $1.14 million on 1000 screens for a $180.8 million international total. The film has yet to open in Japan, and when it does it could reach $200 million internationally.
  • Holidays couldn't help save Hostage as it fell 22% in France to just $1,109,933 for the weekend and $2,853,977 during its run.
  • House of Wax started its international run with two strong openings in South East Asia. In Taiwan the film managed $840,000 on 80 screens finishing second to Kingdom of Heaven while it earned $250,000 on 28 screens in Singapore for a $1.09 million weekend total.
  • After a merely average start in the U.K., The Wedding Date is showing strong legs dropping just 21% to $1.0 million. On the other hand, the film crashed more than 75% during its second weekend in Italy landing at $30,000. It's still early in the film's international run, but with just $8 million so far, it's unlikely that it will surpass its domestic total.
  • Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous is running towards $100 million worldwide with $1 million over the weekend and $49 million during its run. The highlight of the week, if you can call it that, was its ninth place, $153,327 opening in Italy.
  • Million Dollar Baby saw its box office grow 5% in France to $935,514 for a seven week total of $19,339,025. But that's not the big new, the big news is the film has apparently crossed $100 million internationally.
  • Blade: Trinity opened in Japan $892,429 on just 133 screens, second best per screen average in the top ten. The film is the best international box office draw of the franchise with $74.3 million but will probably not catch the original's $131 million worldwide.
  • Valiant is still just playing in France and the U.K. but it did earn $785,000 on 800 screens to its $22.8 million international total.
  • Son of the Mask is just wrapping up its international run with $767,577 during its fourth weekend in Japan. The film now has $9,864,261 in the market, easily the biggest slice of its $32.8 million international total.
  • Hide & Seek is just winding down its run in Japan adding $690,645 this week to its $7,727,961 in the market and international box office of $68.9 million internationally.
  • In Good Company topped $2 million in Australia with $315,000 this weekend. The film also made $55,000 on 20 screens in New Zealand, ($75,000 including previews.)
  • Cursed opened in Greece with $130,000 while adding another $240,000 in Spain.
  • Downfall remained relative flat in both Italy and Australia earning $300,451 and $168,358 respectively.
  • Cellular just hung onto tenth place in Italy with $145,085 for the weekend and $600,619 total.
  • The Truth About Love with Jennifer Love Hewitt plummeted to just $67,635 in South Korea for a total in the market of $2,227,220. It had a run very similar to what The Interpreter managed there, but it's hard to extrapolate its potential elsewhere for that one result.
  • Boogeyman debuted in Hong Kong with just $65,000 on 17 screens.
  • Palindromes opened in the U.K. with $50,000 on just 15 screens.
  • Mean Creek lost a quarter of its box office landing at $45,000 for the weekend and $160,000 during its two-week run.

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    Filed under: International Box Office, Hitch, Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, Million Dollar Baby, Constantine, The Amityville Horror, Shall We Dance?, Blade: Trinity, Hide and Seek, Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous, Boogeyman, In Good Company, Hostage, House of Wax, Cellular, The Wedding Date, Valiant, Cursed, Son of the Mask, Der Untergang, Mean Creek, Palindromes