Warner Bros.
Update for the latest…: There were two new Hollywood entries at the international box office this weekend, as both Warner Bros./Village Roadshow/Heyday Films' “Wonka” and Universal/Illumination's “Migration” began their offshore rollouts early, albeit after different patterns.
It was good news all around when Timothée Chalamet's lead actor Wonka debuted $43.2 million in 37 markets well above forecasts before the weekend. The Paul King-directed origin story/musical debuted at No. 1 in 32 markets. On a like-for-like basis, using today's exchange rates, the film is 95% above Paddington, 77% above Mary Poppins Returns and 50% above The Greatest Showman.
In Latin America, Wonka was the region's top performer with a 63% market share, outperforming the aforementioned competitors by 232%, 145% and 129%, respectively. In Europe, the film was number 1 in each of its releases.
As expected, the United Kingdom was the top performer with $11.1 million and had a 73% market share in the top five. This will be the second-biggest opening of a Warner Bros. film in 2023, behind Barbie, and the fourth-biggest three-day industry opening of the year. The results exceed all competitions.
Wonka dominated Mexico with $5.2 million and a nearly 70% share of the top 5. It opens at about the same level as Jumanji: The Next Level and significantly exceeds all of the comps mentioned above.
SpainThe $4.4 million 5-day opening ranked No. 1 with a 34% share of the top 5 and is the fifth-largest industry opening of 2023. Compared to other 5-day openings, Wonka was ahead 15% ahead of Indiana Jones and Dial of Destiny as well as 337% ahead of Puss in Boots: The Last Wish and 214% ahead of Sing 2 (the latter two are both Christmas releases). It also beat Paddington's 6-day open by 391%.
In GermanyWonka's No. 1 launch, worth $3.6 million, had a 34% share and performed well compared to the competition. China completes the top 5 with 3.2 million US dollars, putting it ahead of the US opener Migration. The flu and a cold front across most of China continue to impact the market and directly affect families. Opening weekend results are 29% higher than The Little Mermaid and 41% higher than Dial of Destiny. Word of mouth and reviews are very positive (Maoyan 9.3, Taopiaopiao 9.3, Douban 7.6). IMAX generated 16% of total opening weekend revenue from 737 screens.
Across IMAX, Wonka opened with $2.3 million from 846 screens.
Speaking of IMAX and audiences' preference for premium experiences, the company has surpassed $1 billion at the global box office in 2023. This marks the third time the large format company has ever reached this milestone, following 2019 ($1.11 billion) and 2018 ($1.03 billion). Significantly, nine titles worldwide grossed over $1 billion in 2019, compared to just two in 2023. The top-grossing IMAX titles worldwide this year were Oppenheimer ($185 million) and Avatar: The Way of Water ($110 million calendar year).
While Wonka is essentially following a two-pronged schedule, launching domestic markets and another 40 international markets next weekend (Korea follows in late January), the migration is very staggered, with just 18 markets in the first frame. Second, third and fourth market waves will be added by December. Brazil and Korea travel in January, the UK in February and Japan in March.
The migration strategy is similar to the launch pattern for Uni/DreamWorks Animation's “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish,” which grossed over $481 million worldwide. Both this film and Disney's “Elemental” have shown that multiples for animated films are strong at the post-pandemic box office.
Migration gross $6.5 million in its first opening stores, right next to Puss in Boots: The Last Wish. Reviews and word of mouth are strong – in France, it received four stars from audiences and a 3.8 from critics. This market was the top performer at $2 million, including extensive paid previews. Italy grossed $1.8 million, the same as “Puss 2” and more than double that of “Sing 2.” On Bank Holiday Friday, it surpassed Puss 2's result on the same holiday last year.
China opened on 9,000 screens and 7,500 locations in a crowded market, grossing $1 million, but saw good upside on Saturday. Audiences give him a top score of 9.4 on both Maoyan and TPP. Belgium lost $400,000 to Elemental and Puss 2 and was boosted by a successful school screening program during the year-end holiday season and a family event at Kinepolis this weekend. The Christmas holidays are expected to last a long time. The United Arab Emirates And Saudi Arabia Round out the top five debuts with $200,000 each.
Seven more markets will be added next weekend, including Mexico.
As a holdover, Ridley Scott's Napoleon, the epic produced by Apple Original Films/distributed by Sony Pictures, added another $16.1 million from 64 markets this session. This increases international success $117.7 million and globally $170.8 million. Korea was new to the frame, with a starting price of $1 million, more than double the opening of Killers Of The Flower Moon and House of Gucci.
The top 5 to date are these United Kingdom ($14.4 million), France ($12.2 million), Spain ($8.7 million), Germany ($8.2 million) and Italy ($7.8 million).
Disney's Wish fell 34% in the third frame (-30% excluding China). The weekend was good for $12.1 million in 37 markets. Strong retention rates were observed in Germany (unchanged), Spain (-7%) and France (-23%). Denmark was new, with a No. 1 opening of $700,000, 92% over Elemental (+114% including previews), benefiting from the summer holidays.
Coming markets include Italy, Australia, Japan, Korea and Brazil.
The international cume is $56.1 million for $105.5 million global. The top 5 markets so far are France ($7.1 million), United Kingdom ($7 million), Germany ($5.8 million), China ($5.7 million) and Mexico ($4.3 million).
Lionsgate's The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes slid into another $11 million for an offshore cume from $143.3 million and global uplift $279 million.
VARIOUS UPDATED CUMES/NOTABLE
Trolls band together (UNI): $2.7 million weekend (73 markets); $90.7 million internally and $173.8 million worldwide
Thanksgiving (SNY): $2.5 million weekend (55 markets); $11.8 million internally and $42.3 million worldwide
Five nights at Freddy's (UNI): $1 million intl. weekend (78 markets); $151.4 million internally and $288.6 million worldwide
Flower Moon Killer (PAR): $400,000 weekend (44 markets); $88.6M internal/$155.5M global
Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie (PAR): $300,000 weekend (39 markets); $130.4 million internally and $195.6 million worldwide
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