Over There: International Box Office Report

By Edwin Davies

June 27, 2016

Oh, thank goodness they were able to get Brent Spiner back.

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When it comes to international box office in 2016, two themes are rapidly emerging: sequels to bafflingly popular originals underperforming, and very expensive films barely being bailed out by overseas audiences. Both are embodied by our number one film this week, Independence Day: Resurgence, the film which presupposes that you can get rid of Will Smith, keep Brent Spiner, and everything will somehow work out. Domestically, that theory was thoroughly disproved since it earned only $41.6 million. For comparison, the original earned $50.2 million its opening weekend (which would be about $97 million in 2016 dollars) despite having already earned $45.8 million (or $89 million adjusted for inflation) before the weekend started. So domestically, the latest Roland Emmerich film has, in a moment of delicious irony, been nothing short of a disaster.

Internationally, things are slightly rosier looking, but still aren't great. Resurgence tops the chart with $102.1 million having opened pretty much everywhere, so the Fox film has been left with little room for expansion. It could still end up with around $300-400 million overseas, and maybe even squeak over the half a billion mark worldwide, which would be about the bare minimum expected from a film of this scale, carrying a budget of around $165 million. But it looks downright embarrassing compared to the first film, which earned $511 million overseas (and $817 million worldwide) back when the international market was comparatively tiny, and without the benefit of 20 years of inflation and the addition of 3D surcharges. It's never been easier for blockbusters to earn money overseas, and Independence Day: Resurgence is going to pale in comparison to a film many people now remember as the source of a borderline racist meme. Maybe they should have asked Mae Whitman to come back?

Now You See Me 2 is Now You See Me Second with $50.9 million. $43.3 million of that came from the film's debut in China, which is a 367% increase on the opening of the original. Not that surprising since a considerable section of the film was shot in the Middle Kingdom, and it provides a much needed boost to a sequel that is lagging behind its predecessor by some distance (there's those themes again!). Now You See Me 2 has so far earned $107.7 million overseas and $159.7 million worldwide.

Finding Dory is third as the Pixar release goes the slow and steady route to total domination. It added a few smaller territories this week and earned an additional $37 million, bringing its international total to $110.3 million and its global one to $396.9 million. Since it is currently on pace to earn around $500 million domestically, a similar overseas result for a final tally north of $1 billion seems very achievable for the forgetful fish adventure, though it probably won't start earning big bucks until July and August.




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The Conjuring 2 is fourth and continues to chase after the already impressive performance of its predecessor. It added $21 million for a new international total of $156 million. At its current pace, it should have little trouble topping the $180 million the first earned.

In fifth is (GASP) a film that isn't a sequel. Me Before You continues to outstrip expectations for its genre by earning $17.5 million. It has now earned more internationally ($60.1 million) than domestically ($51.2 million), and continues to make its $20 million budget look like a very sound investment for Warner Bros.

Debuting in the UK, Ireland and Norway ahead of its US debut on July 8th, The Secret Life of Pets earned $15.2 million, good enough for sixth place. Coming from Illumination - the people indirectly responsible for the insufferable Minions memes and directly responsible for the insufferable Minions movie - this portends a very successful run for their latest modestly budgeted juggernaut (it cost only $75 million) since it scored the fourth highest debut for an animated film ever in the UK, ahead of any of Illumination's previous efforts.

In seventh is Three, the latest action thriller from Hong Kong genre master Johnnie To, which earned $9.5 million, most of which came from China. I don't have much else to say about the film, so I'll just say that To is a great filmmaker, and anyone looking for some crazy action fun should check out his 2012 film Drug War on Netflix. It's fantastic, as are most of the films in his varied filmography.

Warcraft is eighth as the former champion runs out of steam. It added $9.4 million for a new overseas tally of $368.3 million, while its global worldwide total is now a just-barely-not-good-enough $412.1 million.

Central Intelligence is ninth as the Kevin Hart-Dwayne Johnson team up earned $4.7 million as part of its very tentative roll out. As I wrote last week, Hart isn't much of a draw internationally, and its running total of $14.3 million already stands as one of his better performances. With a lot more territories ahead, it should easily top the $33.4 million that Ride Along 2 earned last year to become his best international result as a star.

Finally this week we have X-Men: Apocalypse, which added $3.6 million for a new overseas total of $374.6 million. Its last major territory left is Japan in August, which might push the film over the $400 million mark eventually. Like so many of the films on this chart, the X-Men sequel hasn't done as well as its immediate predecessors, and it's just barely getting by thanks to the wavering interest of international audiences. 2016 folks!


     


 
 

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