International Round Up: South Korea has a Welcome Intruder at the Box Office

June 10, 2020

Intruder

Although recovery from the pandemic varies widely around the world, and some countries are seeing worrying spikes in infections, this weekend saw some encouraging signs of growth at the box office. Here’s a round up of what we’re seeing in different territories.

South Korea is the first major market to show real signs of coming back from the COVID-19 outbreak. This past weekend, a local thriller, Intruder, debuted with $1.89 million on 1,363 screens over the weekend for a four-day opening of $2.25 million. This would not normally be a great result for a number one film this time of year, but it also wouldn't be a terrible result for a local film either. Additionally, it helped the overall box office more than double from last weekend with more than 400,000 tickets sold. Granted, The Korean Film Council did heavily subsidize tickets, but the high number of tickets sold still suggests audiences are willing to go to theaters, if there are movies that are worth their time. This hypothesis is reinforced by the top ten, which saw an even more impressive jump, going from $1.27 million to $3.17 million, so big releases are driving growth and more big releases should accelerate that growth. Furthermore, if the box office were to double again next weekend, we would be back to normal in that market. While such a big increase would be a surprise next weekend, or even over the next month, there are signs of normalcy returning to that corner of the international market.

On the other hand, the box office in Germany was a little weaker, with the top 24 down 17% to $1.15 million. The lack of new releases is hurting here. Likewise, Onward is the only major release in Taiwan and the market collapsed 28% this past weekend with the top ten earning just $362,000. Onward was more than half of that with $194,000 in 90 theaters over the weekend for a three-week total of $926,000. Hong Kong also dropped, with its top ten down 9% to $662,000. Its biggest new release was The Tunnel, which earned second place with $120,000 in 43 theaters during its opening weekend of release, just behind Digimon Adventure: Last Evolution Kizuna, which earned $139,000 in 54 theaters. Again, the lack of new releases is the biggest impediment in this market.

There were some other markets with impressive growth this past weekend. Japan saw its top ten skyrocket to $196,000 thanks to the re-release of a trio of MCU films. The Avengers topped the chart with $58,000 in 278 theaters, putting it just ahead of the Birds of Prey with $44,000 in 172 theaters. This would be terrible numbers under normal circumstances, but the country just ended its state of emergency and most moviegoers are not comfortable going to the theaters just yet. If COVID-19 numbers remain low in the market and audiences feel safe, then the box office should bounce back rather quickly.

Speaking of feeling safe, New Zealand was able to declare itself free from COVID-19 and all restrictions were lifted. However, that happened after the weekend, so the box office is not fully recovered yet. The top ten did climb 48% to $105,000 with The Assistant leading the way. Next weekend will be important for the box office, but things won’t truly recover until big new releases arrive, likely in July. Neighboring Australia is also recovering, and its top ten was up 133% to $189,000 with The Invisible Man earning $41,449 in just ten theaters over the weekend.

Meanwhile, the Netherlands opened up for the first time last weekend, its top ten earned a combined $774,000. This includes a re-release of local hit, De Beentjes Van Sint Hildegard, which earned $158,000 in 153 theaters. Next weekend will be an important marker for further growth in European markets.

Filed under: International Box Office, Onward, Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn), The Assistant, Tunnelen, Chimibja, Marvel Cinematic Universe