‘Minions: The Rise Of Gru’ Boogies To $202M WW As ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ Flies By $1.1B & ‘Jurassic World Dominion’ Rumbles Past $800M – International Box Office
UPDATE, writethru: Coming in slightly above the estimates we reported on Saturday, Universal/Illumination’s Minions: The Rise Of Gru has boogied to an $87.2M weekend at the international box office. That lifts the offshore cume to $93.7M for $202.2M worldwide to date.
The Rise Of Gru, the latest entry in the globe’s biggest animated franchise, had previously bowed in Australia last weekend and this frame added another 60 markets. In the fresh hubs, the debut was $81.5M.
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In like-for-likes at today’s exchange rates, the new openers are 23% below Minions and 13% below Despicable Me 3. Including Australia, results in Week 2 are tracking 13% below Minions and just 3% below DM3. France, Japan, Korea and Italy are still to unleash the little fellows.
Gru and the crew set some new milestones internationally with four markets scoring the biggest animation opening weekend of all time (Argentina, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Venezuela); and 52 markets setting the best animated launch of the pandemic (see more detail in the breakdowns as they are updated below for all films).
Universal pulled out all the stops on a global marketing campaign that included pop-up stores, music festival appearances and shopping mall takeovers as well as a clever TikTok “Minions In Suits” challenge that went viral over the frame.
The Top 5 openers this weekend were the UK ($12.9M), Mexico ($12.4M), Germany ($4.8M), Spain ($3.6M) and Indonesia ($3.4M).
Says Universal Pictures International President of Distribution, Veronika Kwan Vandenberg, “We couldn’t be happier for Chris Meledandri, the filmmakers, cast and crew and our partners at Illumination. This result is testament to the enduring love for this franchise, the exceptional film they have delivered and the enormous collaboration between Illumination, our Universal teams around the world and our partners in exhibition.”
Overall, the marketplace is robust and it’s refreshing to see so many big-ticket pictures across different genres comfortably co-existing.
To wit: Paramount/Skydance’s hypersonic Top Gun: Maverick passed the $1.1B global threshold, grossing a further $37M in 65 markets — another outstanding 16% drop from last weekend internationally. The overseas total through Sunday is $544.5M.
And, Universal’s Jurassic World Dominion stomped past the $800M mark globally — only the 4th Hollywood title to get there since the start of the pandemic. With $824.5M, it is the No. 3 film of 2022 worldwide. The offshore cume is $492.7M after adding $26.8M in 72 markets this frame.
Warner Bros’ Elvis slipped by just 28% in its sophomore frame for a $15.7M weekend in 57 international markets. The offshore cume to date is $46.2M with global crossing $100M to reach $113.5M through Sunday.
Breakdowns on the films above and more have been updated below.
HOLDOVERS
MINIONS: THE RISE OF GRU
Universal
After debuting in Australia last session, this origins story from directors Kyle Balda, Brad Ableson and Jonathan Del Val came in above expectations with an $87.2M weekend in 61 markets. The offshore cume through Sunday is $93.7M for $202.2M worldwide. The overseas portion is running just 13% below Minions at the same point and 3% behind Despicable Me 3.
There are still such major markets to go bananas as France, Korea, Japan and Italy.
As noted above, there were milestones aplenty while 11 markets had the biggest Universal animation opening weekend ever excluding previews (Argentina, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Egypt, Pakistan, Poland, Uruguay, Turkey, Chile, Norway); and 14 markets had the top Illumination animation launch weekend of all time outside previews (Argentina, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Pakistan, Poland, Uruguay, Turkey, Chile, Norway, UAE, Vietnam, Sweden, Egypt).
The UK was the biggest opener at $12.9M. Saturday saw a 50% bump versus Friday (which had seen the best start ever for a Universal animated film and an Illumination title). The Friday/Saturday are 2% ahead of the first film, and 6% ahead of the opening two days for Incredibles 2.
Mexico is estimated at $12.4M across 920 locations and 4,053 screens. This would make it Universal’s 3rd biggest animated opening weekend behind Minions (-15%) and DM3 (-4%).
Germany’s weekend is estimated to reach $4.8M from 698 locations and 1,359 screens, in line with DM2, and below DM3 and Minions.
Spain is playing across 424 locations and 873 screens with the overall weekend estimated at $3.6M, the biggest animated opening of the pandemic and just below Minions and DM3.
Indonesia is on track for an opening weekend of $3.4M from 776 screens, the biggest Universal and Illumination launch weekend of all time including previews.
Outside the Top 5, Argentina is tracking to $3.3M, the top animation opening ever for box office, and the 3rd best among all titles; Brazil grossed an estimated $3.2M; Poland is estimated at $2.4M — the top Universal and Illumination animated opening of all time, and the 2nd biggest animation ever excluding previews. The opening day had already broken the record as biggest of the pandemic, beating Spider-Man: No Way Home. Netherlands is seeing $2M, just 1% off Minions excluding previews and the Middle East as a whole is forecasted to $4.7M.
In Israel, the TikTok stunt “Minions in Suits,” helped propel the movie to $1.5M for the biggest animation opening of all time as well as Universal’s 2nd biggest opening weekend of all time excluding previews (only behind Fast 8).
In Australia, and with kids’ holidays, the sophomore session increased by 50% versus last weekend for a running cume of $12.2M.
The overseas IMAX total on TROG is $1.3M.
TOP GUN: MAVERICK
Paramount
This Tom Cruise-starrer catapulted across $1B global last weekend and now counts $1.109B worldwide through Sunday. Still soaring in 65 markets, it saw a drop of only 16% from the previous session to add $37M for an offshore cume of $544.5M.
The 2nd weekend in Korea grossed $10.8M at 528 locations, up 1% from the opening weekend and ranked No. 1 in the market. The cume is now $27.5M.
Australia also saw a bump (+5%) for another $3.9M and a $51.5M cume.
Japan delivered $3.6M on the 6th weekend from 379 sites, ranked at No. 1 for the 6th weekend in a row. The cume there is $57.6M.
The UK’s hold was an impressive -18% for a further $3.4M and an $84.8M total to date.
France, where the reduced-price ticket scheme La Fête du Cinéma began today, grossed $2M at No. 1 in the market for a $42M cume.
In other notable performances, Germany was down just 7% from last weekend for a $25.6M cume; Brazil has grossed $19.3M; Taiwan ranked No. 1 again with an $18.8M cume; Mexico has cumed $13.6M; and Saudi Arabia zoomed up 22% from the previous frame for a $14.8M running total.
IMAX’s global total is now $94M with $43M from international. As of last weekend, 4DX and ScreenX have grossed $37M globally while in Korea, the new SX at CGV Yeongdeungpo in Seoul had a per-screen average of over $123K last weekend.
JURASSIC WORLD DOMINION
Universal
Universal’s dinosaurs chomped on another $26.8M in 72 markets this session, bringing international close to $500M with $492.7M so far. The global total this weekend topped $800M to reach $824.5M.
China, where JWD is the biggest import of 2022, dipped by just 25% for a $129.2M cume.
Mexico is the next best market at $41.3M — higher than the previous two movies in the franchise — followed by the UK ($37.2M), France ($22M) and Australia ($21.8M). The latter two are in line with Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom at the same point of play.
Japan is still to come at the end of the month.
Disney/Pixar
Disney/Pixar’s spinoff fell by 58% overseas, adding $11.3M in 45 material markets. The offshore cume is now $82.2M for $187.6M global. Japan was the new opener at No. 2 with an estimated $2.9M for the three days, posting the 2nd best opening for a non-local animated title during the pandemic era. With kids holidays in Australia, Buzz got a bump of 20%.
The Top 5 comes are Mexico ($16.2M), UK ($10.5M), Argentina ($5.6M), Australia ($5.1M) and France ($4.8M).
ELVIS
Warner Bros
Warner Bros’ Baz Luhrmann-directed biopic added $15.7M on 8,305 screens in 57 international markets during the sophomore frame — a terrific hold of -28%. The overseas cume to date is $46.2M for a worldwide total of $113.5M through Sunday.
Japan was the biggest opening market this session, taking $1.1M on 407 screens. This was 46% ahead of House Of Gucci and 29% over Moulin Rouge. Word of mouth is strong with Yahoo users giving the picture 4 stars out of 5, Eiga.com 3.6 out of 5, and Filmarks 3.9 out of 5.
The UK leads play at $12.4M, dipping just 27% from opening weekend and ranking No. 2 behind the debut of Rise Of Gru this session. Australia is next at $11.3M, seeing a fantastic 13% drop and also ranking No. 2 behind Minions. France ($3.7M), Germany ($2.2M) and Italy ($1.7M) round out the Top 5.
The next markets to open will be Korea on July 13 and all of Latin America on July 14.
THE BLACK PHONE
Universal
Universal/Blumhouse’s horror pic added five markets this session to bring the total to 50. The Ethan Hawke-starrer grossed $8.3M for a 28% drop in the holdovers. The overseas cume is $27M, ahead of Don’t Breathe, Ouija, Old and Halloween Kills at the same point. The global running cume is $74.4M.
Top market plays are Mexico ($8.3M), UK ($3.3M), Saudi Arabia ($1.8M), France ($1.5M) and Germany ($1.1M). Australia and Brazil release later this month.
MISC UPDATED CUMES/NOTABLE
The Lost City (PAR): $410K intl weekend (22 markets); $85.5M intl cume/$190.8M global
Sonic The Hedgehog 2 (PAR): $295K intl weekend (45 markets); $211M intl cume/$401.8M global
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