International Box Office: Joker Takes on All of the Top Five and Wins

October 17, 2019

Joker

Like last weekend, this weekend’s international box office was toped by Joker, while the nearest competition was a Chinese film. Unlike last weekend, Joker dominated the chart earning more than the rest of the top five combined. It managed a weekend haul of $125.3 million on 24,555 screens in 79 markets for totals of $354.7 million internationally and $548.3 million worldwide. The film hit half a billion dollars worldwide in just 12 days and given its legs so far, it is on pace to reach $1 billion. Joker had very similar openings in France and Germany with $10.6 million on 630 screens and $9.8 million on 1,003 screens respectively. It goes without saying that the film was the best Warner Bros. opening of 2019 in both markets. However, the film flopped in those markets when you compare how well it is doing in the U.K. In that market, Joker was down just 22% earning $12.0 million on 1,472 screens during its sophomore stint for a running tally of $36.9 million. It has earned more in the U.K. than it has domestically, relatively speaking, and I don’t think anyone was expecting that. On the downside, the film is done with openings and it will be coasting on holdovers from now on. That’s not much of a downside.

The Captain earned $33.4 million in its third weekend of release in China for a total of $348.1 million in its native market. The film has also opened in Australia and New Zealand, but has made barely more than $600,000 in those two markets combined.

Gemini Man needs to be a monster hit internationally if it is to break even any time soon and its prospects don’t look so good after its opening weekend. The film only managed third place with $31.1 million in 53 markets. The film did well in France and Germany, earning $3 million in both markets. On the other hand, it struggled in both the U.K. ($2.18 million on 523 screens) and in Australia ($1.02 million on 370). That’s barely half of what the film made here, given the relative size of the markets.

My People, My Country earned $23.0 million over the weekend for a total of $366.9 million so far. The film has also earned just over $1 million combined in the U.K., Australia, and New Zealand.

Abominable rounded out the top five, for the third time in a row, this time earning $16.1 million in 52 markets for totals of $61.2 million internationally and $109.1 million worldwide. The film had million dollar openings in both the U.K. ($2.69 million in 549 theaters) and in Spain ($1.57 million in 309). Furthermore, the film has yet to open in a number of markets, including France, so it should have no trouble getting to $100 million internationally.

Filed under: International Box Office, Gemini Man, Abominable, Joker, Zhongguo jizhang, Wo he wo de zu guo