Over There

By Edwin Davies

November 10, 2014

Explain to me why I did this again.

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Christopher Nolan's Interstellar may have lost the first round domestically this weekend, coming in second behind Disney's Big Hero 6, but internationally things are very different. Nolan's ninth feature reasserted his status as one of the most ambitious blockbuster directors currently working, and that vision was rewarded with a very strong $80 million from overseas audiences.

That's a huge start for a film where the main draw is Nolan's name and his reputation for spectacle. The big question now is where Interstellar ends up. Nolan's last three films earned $469.7 million, $533 million, and $636.3 overseas. The first and third of those were Batman films, so their success probably isn't that helpful in determining Interstellar's trajectory, but the middle one belonged to Inception, which was also an original science fiction film sold primarily on Nolan's past work. The slightly less effusive response the film has received from audiences and critics could prevent it from reaching those heights, but at this point a Christopher Nolan film is an Event, so at least $400 million seems probable, while $500 million is very possible.

Interstellar was the 500 pound gorilla of the weekend, as evidenced by the fact that the number two film earned less than a quarter of what the Nolan's baby managed. Teenage Ninja Turtles took in $17.3 million, taking its international total to $273.2 million. It'll probably take a few more weeks to pass $300 million, but that seems pretty much assured at this point.

The Maze Runner continues to have legs with international audiences as it added $11.6 million this week, good for third place and a (maze) running total of $225.7 million. I'd make a joke about this being a scorching performance, but I'll have to save that for the more appropriately titled Scorch Trials, which will build on this success next year.

Gone Girl earned $8.5 million, in the process crossing the $150 million mark internationally and the $300 million mark globally. It should overtake The Curious Case of Benjamin Button to become David Fincher's biggest worldwide hit at some point in the next three weeks.




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Big Hero 6 is fifth this weekend with $7.6 million. Disney is slowly rolling the film out to different territories over the coming months, much as they did with previous global hits like Frozen and Wreck-It Ralph, so it's not surprising that it is currently so low. Expect its total of $23 million to increase exponentially in the weeks and months ahead, and I'd be very surprised if it does't finish with at least the $281.8 million that Wreck-It Ralph managed back in 2012.

The strength of Brad Pitt's Macklemore hairdo keeps Fury afloat in sixth this week. The violent war film earned $7 million and has $51.5 million to date. It's on track to finish with a higher global total than The Monuments Men ($76.9 million), though that's a pretty low bar to clear considering Pitt's huge international appeal. It seems that people just aren't that into WWII films at the moment.

Annabelle and Dracula Untold continue to wrack up similar totals, though their respective stories are pretty different. Annabelle earned $6.7 million, or $200,000 more than it cost to make, and has $160.5 million in total. Dracula, meanwhile, earned $6.5 million, or less than 10% of what it cost to make, and is sitting pretty (though still dark and brooding) with $147.7 million.

Rounding out the top ten this week are a pair of films that are both theoretically spooky, though in practice the one aimed at kids is probably more effective at it. The Book of Life earned $3.5 million, which gives it a solid overseas total of $35.2 million so far. It looks likely to end with around $50 million, or more less what we tend to see for films released by Laika, which didn't produce The Book of Life, but has made thematically and visually similar films like ParaNorman and The Boxtrolls. This all suggests that there is definitely an audience out there for animated movies that don't fit the Pixar/DreamWorks mold, but that it's relatively small. It's good enough to sustain a modestly-budgeted film like The Book of Life, though.

Ouija, meanwhile, earned $3.2 million from audiences who just aren't ready to accept that Halloween is over and/or aren't terribly discerning. The horror film based on a board game has earned $13.3 million overseas to date, which is perfectly fine considering that it cost hardly anything to produce.


     


 
 

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