‘Maze Runner: The Death Cure’ Finds $65M Overseas; ‘Jumanji’ Drums Up $822M WW – International Box Office

TUESDAY AM UPDATE, writethru with actuals: Fox’s Maze Runner: The Death Cure expanded in its offshore rollout this session, finding a better-than-estimated $64.6M weekend at the international box office. That outpaces both Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials and the original Maze Runner movie. The threequel, which was delayed after star Dylan O’Brien was injured on set in 2016, is playing in a total 71 markets and saw opening No. 1s in 58 this frame, led by China. The overseas cume after last weekend’s bow in just four markets is $84M through Sunday, including $22.2M in the Middle Kingdom which is well above the openings of the previous films, and also above the Sunday estimate despite strong competition in the market.

The Wes Ball-helmed pic is IMAX’s first global day and date release of 2018 and earned $8M from 1,125 IMAX screens in 57 markets including North America. Globally it’s the format’s 2nd highest grossing January opening ever, behind 2015’s American Sniper.

While the final Maze Runner installment gets going, king of the holdover, Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle is continuing its wild ride. The Sony adventure has rocked its worldwide cume to $821.8M, swinging past the original Spider-Man to become the studio’s 5th biggest movie ever at the global box office.

The astonishing trajectory of this Jake Kasdan-helmed favorite was aided this weekend by $18.67M from overseas where the cume is now $484M. Holds have been intense in places like Spain, the UAE, Australia, Germany, France, Mexico, the UK and Brazil. China has lifted to $72.4M to lead all markets. Remember, Japan is still to come in April.

Elsewhere, Blumhouse’s Insidious: The Last Key has officially become the top international entry in the franchise with $81.1M to date. This weekend it overtook Insidious: Chapter 2 at $77.9M. All told, the series of four films has grossed $275.1M overseas.

In other milestones, Working Title/Focus’ Darkest Hour is nearing the $100M worldwide mark. And, Disney/Lucasfilm’s Star Wars: The Last Jedi crossed $1.3B worldwide and $700M internationally. It has also become IMAX’s 3rd biggest global release ever with $125M.

Demonstrating the power of Bollywood icon Aamir Khan with Chinese audiences, Secret Superstar added another $19M in the frame for a Middle Kingdom cume of $65.7M. Also from India, the controversy-stoking Padmaavat netted 114 crores ($17.1M) at home through Sunday (gross through Monday is $24.9M). It set a record for the biggest IMAX opening ever in India with $461K on 12 screens. The Deepika Padukone-starrer further scored the biggest Bollywood opening ever in North America, taking over the laurels from Aamir Khan and his PK.

On deck next week are more expansions with no major new releases as global auds look to get hot and bothered beginning February 7 when Fifty Shades Freed is unleashed by Universal. Otherwise, Oscar nominees will continue to bask in the box office bumps the potential of a little gold guy can offer. And Fox’s The Greatest Showman is going to China (he’s also getting a special IMAX run in the UK).

Breakdowns and actuals on the titles above and more have been updated below (figures for The Commuter have also been added):

HOLDOVERS/EXPANSIONS
MAZE RUNNER: THE DEATH CURE

With No. 1 starts in 58 markets this session, Fox’s threequel raced off with $64.6M in 71 total for an $84M overseas cume through Sunday. Contrary to domestic where Death Cure is opening lower against the previous installments, internationally it’s outpacing both The Scorch Trials and the original movie.

China got off the block at $22.2M for No. 1 despite stiff competition in the market. Russia also opened tops with $4.24M and Indonesia scored Fox’s 5th biggest bow ever with $2.95M. Korea had already opened last weekend and now stands at $15.1M, holding at No. 3.

In IMAX, China grossed $2.2M on 486 screens, with the $3.3M balance coming from 262 screens in 55 other markets.

Wes Ball returns to direct with the story following Thomas (Dylan O’Brien) as he embarks on a mission to find a cure for a deadly disease known as The Flare. Shooting on the picture was delayed when O’Brien suffered a serious injury during filming in 2016 and the release was pushed from February 2017 to this month. Next weekend sees 11 new markets join the race including Germany, Italy, Mexico, Belgium and India.

China was the top play on Scorch Trials with $29.6M. That film had an ultimate offshore cume of $230.6M while the first one scored $246M.

JUMANJI: WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE

The drumbeats keep sounding for Sony’s holiday-season holdover. The Jake Kasdan-helmed adventure has now become the studio’s 5th biggest grosser at the worldwide box office with $821.8M and counting. To achieve that milestone, Jumanji swung past the original Spider-Man and his $821.7M global. The movie should get up across $850M next weekend. Where the ultimate tally lands will depend on how things go in Japan which releases April 6.

This weekend added $18.67M overseas for a $484M international cume. Holds have a rather smoldering intensity in such markets as South Africa (-20%), Spain (-22%), the UAE (-24%), Australia (-25%), Germany (-27%), the Netherlands (-33%), France (-34%), Mexico (-34%), the UK (-35%), and Brazil (-35%).

In all this session, Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black, Kevin Hart and Karen Gillan were playing on 10,800 screens in 92 markets.

The current Top 5 hubs are China ($72.4M – slowing with increased competition in the market), the UK ($46.2M), Australia ($34.8M), France ($25.9M) and Russia ($24.7M).

COCO

Before Coco gets to Japan and Scandinavia, the Oscar-nominated Disney/Pixar musical has crossed $680M worldwide, with $681.5M to date. That includes $478.8M at the international box office after adding $14.6M this weekend in 34 material markets.

Korea is holding nicely in the 3rd session with a mere 13% drop despite strong local competition. Miguel unpacked his guitar case in the UK last weekend, and this time around dipped 30% for an $11.4M cume. This is in advance of school holidays that start in two weeks and Coco is expected to play through.

The Top 5 markets are China ($183.5M), Mexico ($57.8M), France ($31.5M), Spain ($19.4M) and Korea ($19.1M).

THE COMMUTER

Studiocanal’s Liam Neeson-starrer added four majors this weekend: France, Italy, Spain and Korea. The full weekend in 58 hubs was $12M for a global total of $74.6M. Of that, $43.2M is from international. The Jaume Collet-Serra-directed pic has outgrossed his last collaboration with Neeson, Run All Night, on a global scale. There are still key markets to come including China, Russia, Brazil and Japan.

France was a No. 2 open for 233K admissions ($1.9M), to come in 45% below Non Stop, 30% below Unknown and 54% above Run All Night.

Italy (via Eagle Pictures) bowed No. 2 with $1.32M on 243 screens. That’s well above the following comps: The Accountant (+94%), Unstoppable (+85%), Unknown (+64%) and Source Code (+37%). Spain (Tripictures) opened to $525K on 230, 16% below Non Stop. Belgium (eOne) was $394K on 53, above Unknown and below Non Stop.

In major holds, the UK cume, in a very competitive landscape, is $4M. Germany has grossed $5M after three frames. Mexico is at $3.6M. The Middle East has taken $4.9M as a region across 11 markets. The Netherlands ($1.67M cume) and South Africa ($644K) are holding well.

Korea opened via Medialog and came in below expectations at $1.7M from 553. Strong local movies and cold weather impacted business — the latter keeping older audiences at home.

FERDINAND

Blue Sky Animation’s Oscar-nominated bull nosed his way to another $11.8M in 63 markets and on 15,515 screens. The strong run for Carlos Saldanha’s family pic continued with slight dips this session. China fell by 44% for an $18M cume to date while Brazil was down just 14% to cume $9.9M so far. France (-35%/$15.5M cume), Spain (-16%/$9.4M) and Germany (-18%/$7.5M) helped lift the international cume to just over $175.6M.

THE POST

Steven Spielberg’s freedom of the press drama is being released overseas by Amblin Partners and Universal Pictures International. In a total 34 markets, including seven new Amblin hubs and five new Uni plays, the weekend was worth $10.4M. This takes the offshore cume to $24.7M.

France and Brazil were the new majors via Uni this session with strong starts boosted by last week’s Oscar nominations. France, where the movie is actually titled Pentagon Papers, opened at No. 1 with $3.26M and strong word of mouth. It grossed $1M on Saturday alone (movies open in France on a Wed) and is comping upwards of Lincoln (+10%), Bridge Of Spies (+66%) and Spotlight (+141%), but below Sully (-8%).

Brazil bowed No. 4 at $914K. At 202 locations, this was a great start behind Maze Runner, Ferdinand and Jumanji. It’s also tracking well ahead of comps: Spotlight (+224%), Bridge Of Spies (+58%), Sully (+39%) and The Big Short (+22%).

In the UK (via eOne), The Post dipped 25% in its sophomore frame. In Spain (also eOne), it held at No. 2 for a $3.5M cume. Coming this week are Italy, the Netherlands and Mexico.

THE GREATEST SHOWMAN

Another Fox movie boasting an Oscar nomination, The Greatest Showman saw $10M worth of moviegoers run away to join the circus this session. On 4,003 screens in 61 markets, the Hugh Jackman-starrer has now cumed $133M. Holdover business was buoyant with the UK down just 7% for an outstanding $26.9M cume while Australia fell only 3% and has now cumed $18.36M. France was the new opener with $1.6M on 373 screens and good for 3rd position. There are still two major markets to come with China next Friday and Japan on February 16. Both will be important plays to watch. China recently has embraced musicals with La La Land and Coco both scoring. Japan counted La La in the Top 10 last year and Les Misérables (with Jackman starring) was the No. 5 movie of 2012.

WONDER
After crossing $250M worldwide during the week, Lionsgate’s inspirational family story has now risen to $266.2M global with $135.7M internationally. The weekend was worth $9.8M in 59 markets. Wonder was wunderbar in its Germany opening, claiming No. 1 with $2.1M on 463 screens. Brazil continues to lead all play with $27.3M and China is next with $18.4M after 10 days. There are more releases to come in February and March.

DARKEST HOUR

Gary Oldman’s tour de force as Winston Churchill is nearing $100M at the worldwide box office. With $98.9M through Sunday, the Working Title/Focus drama from Joe Wright has commanded $53.7M internationally. This weekend it added a better-than-estimated $10.2M in 49 markets. Boosted by its six Oscar nominations, the film started off at No. 2 in Denmark with $399K to top comps Iorn Lady (+18%), Imitation Game (+38%), Bridge Of Spies (+109%) and Lincoln (+119%), but come in below The Kings Speech (-18%). Poland was also new, opening at No. 8 with $175K.

The UK saw a fantastic 20% drop for a $3.6M weekend and a $21M cume; it also held No. 1 to best newcomer Maze Runner. Other major markets are France ($4.1M), Australia ($3.3M) and Italy ($3.2M). Several more jump aboard next weekend while Japan bows March 30.

THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING MISSOURI

Martin McDonagh’s seven-time Oscar nominee (though somehow not in the directing category…) stomped its way to another $8.5M in 29 markets this session. That takes the Fox Searchlight dark comedy to $34.3M overseas thus far. Word of mouth is spreading on this one with multiple markets seeing increases, also boosted by the Oscar nominations. The UK was the top play in its 3rd weekend with a 25% drop for a cume of $10.3M while France dipped 38% and has grossed $2.8M to date.

Germany was a new hub for Frances McDormand, Sam Rockwell, Woody Harrelson and the gang, grossing $1.1M at 190 dates and a No. 4 start. Mexico bowed with $303K on 181 screens.

Australia (+17% this session) has now cumed $5.2M and Spain (+5%) is at $3.7M. There are still 37 markets to come.

INSIDIOUS: THE LAST KEY

Blumhouse’s latest horror hit, Insidious: The Last Key, has become the franchise’s biggest entry at the international box office with $81.1M and climbing. The film played in 53 markets this session to add $7.34M on 5,200 screens. Released by Sony overseas, the fourquel next bows in Korea this week, followed by Australia on February 8. The Insidious films have gone from strength to strength overseas with the first chapter clocking $46.4M, followed by $69.7M and $77.9M for the middle two installments.

STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI
Disney/Lucasfilm’s Star Wars: The Last Jedi has reached a new IMAX benchmark, pulling in $125M globally to become the No. 3 biggest movie ever in the format (it surpassed Jurassic World this weekend). In overall play, Jedi worked mind tricks for a better-than-estimated $5.2M in 37 material markets this session. The international cume is now $701.1M for $1,311.8M worldwide. Japan continues to hold well (-26%) as does Australia (-27%). The Top 5 markets are the UK ($110.3M), Germany ($81.2M), France ($64.2M), Japan ($62.6M) and Australia ($44.3M).

THE SHAPE OF WATER

With 13 Oscar nominations, Guillermo del Toro’s The Shape Of Water got a boost in some markets which saw increases over the previous frame. The fantasy fairy tale added $3.3M from 1,986 screens in 10 international markets this session with Mexico still tops and holding No. 1 for the 3rd straight weekend (and down just 5%) at $9.85M. Australia ($1.29M cume) and Colombia ($520K) both jumped about 9%. The international cume floats to $13.96M with the majority of the international marketplace releasing throughout the month of February.

I, TONYA

With a strong debut in Australia, Margot Robbie-starrer I, Tonya added $2.1M in the session and has now grossed $2.36M at the international box office. Coming off three Oscar nominations, the Craig Gillespie-directed bio that Sierra/Affinity is handling overseas did a toe loop of $1.8M on 225 screens in Oz this session, skating away with a dominant No. 1. That tops The Fighter by 49% and is in line with Silver Linings Playbook which went o to cume $11M locally. Next weekend adds Russia, followed by Brazil, the UK, France, Spain, Italy, Germany and Japan throughout February, March and May.

CALL ME BY YOUR NAME

Another Oscar movie, Luca Guadagnino’s Call Me By Your Name added $1.95M internationally this session on 534 screens in 22 markets. The frame was particularly notable for the performance in Italy, the helmer’s native country with $980K for a $6,848 per screen average on the Sony pic. The results are triple pre-release projections and benefited from the European tour kicking off last Wednesday in Rome. Guadagnino, Timothée Chalamet and Armie Hammer did a full day of Italian press, basking in the afterglow of the previous day’s Oscar noms. Next, they headed to Paris for a Friday premiere. So far, Call Me By Your Name has grossed $6.4M overseas.

ALL THE MONEY IN THE WORLD

STXinternational’s Oscar-nominated All The Money In The World added 14 international markets for a total 42 in play. The weekend saw auds pony up $1.7M from 1,610 locations. The cume to date is $17M including the UK where Sony is releasing.

Eastern Europe opened with $480K from 474 locations including 130 in Poland which grossed $195K. That’s on par with The Big Short and 81% ahead of Spotlight. The Middle East started off with $401K from 180 locations; the UAE was hosting the movie at 80 for $223K. That’s 38% ahead of The Big Short and on par with Prisoners. France has now crossed $2M in its 5th weekend with an estimated cume of $2.04M from 90 locations.

Upcoming key market releases include Korea, Taiwan, Germany, Mexico, Russia, China and Japan.

MISC UPDATED CUMES/NOTABLES

Downsizing (PAR): $5.1M intl weekend (40 markets); $20M intl cume
12 Strong (LG): $1.84M intl weekend (28 markets); $5.4M intl cume
Pitch Perfect 3 (UNI): $1.7M intl weekend (35 markets); $77.3M intl cume
Geostorm (WB): $1.5M intl weekend (Japan only); $182.5M intl cume
Molly’s Game (S/A): $1.4M intl weekend; $19.9M intl cume
Benedetta Follia (UNI): $1.1M intl weekend (Italy only); $9.1M Italian cume
Help, I Shrunk My Parents (SNY): $1.1M intl weekend (4 markets); $2.9M intl cume
Woody Woodpecker (UNI): $700K intl weekend (7 markets); $9.3M intl cume
Perfectos Desconocidos (UNI): $700K intl weekend (Spain only); $22.3M Spanish cume