‘Doctor Strange’ Reigns Supreme With $240M+ Overseas/$325M+

UPDATE, 3:20 PM PT: Disney/Marvel’s Doctor Strange continued to boost the overseas fall box office with a $118.7M 2nd frame. The sophomore magic show levitated the offshore cume to $240.4M and, with domestic included, put $325.4M in the global bag of tricks. The Benedict Cumberbatch-starrer is holding above its main comps when considering like-for-like markets, boding well for the coming weeks as it adds dimensions before Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them apparates globally beginning November 16.

In China, the Scott Derrickson-directed Doctor Strange was a hit with audiences who have recently been blasé about Hollywood fare. The $44.4M bow is the best of the season and was also good to IMAX with the top November 3-day debut ever for the format. (See more detail below.) It also tops the Middle Kingdom starts of recent comps Ant-Man (+5%) and Guardians Of The Galaxy (+49%).

China flooded the market with local releases this week, but none could keep pace with the Doctor who widely dominated play. The next several frames are loaded with Hollywood movies in an effort to boost box office before 2016 is over and that, as ever, means there’s a risk of cannibalization. A-M ($105M) and GOTG ($96M) had good legs and while the Middle Kingdom is less than predictable these days, DS has those mind-bending visuals, solid reviews for the increasingly discerning audience — and Cumberbatch’s immense Sherlock following.

Next week sees Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk from Ang Lee enter the market on Friday. The Sony pic has the involvement of China’s Bona Film Group and China-backed Studio 8 and is expected to perform there. Lee’s Life Of Pi made over $90M in the Middle Kingdom in 2012. Co-star Vin Diesel will also be a major draw.

Overall, there were a number of milestones reached this weekend with Disney right in the thick of it. The studio crossed the $6B mark at the global box office for the first time in its history, becoming only the second ever to pass the threshold after Universal did so last year. In the mix, Zootopia moved up to No. 2 for 2016 worldwide.

In other key stats Bridget Jones’s Baby crossed $200M worldwide; Inferno passed $150M international; and Trolls popped over the $100M offshore line.

Across the Top 10 titles this weekend, the frame is roughly even with last session. Compared to last year, it’s about 8.6% off. At this time in 2015 it was all about Spectre with the 24th James Bond pic playing in 77 offshore markets.

Up next weekend, Denis Villeneuve’s Amy Adams-starrer Arrival — a hit on the festival circuit earlier this fall — notably begins overseas rollout.

See below for much more on Doctor Strange plus breakdowns on all films including limited newcomers Hacksaw Ridge and Nocturnal Animals.

PREVIOUS: Doctor Strange continued on his magical overseas journey this weekend, conjuring a $118.7M 2nd session at the international box office. That brings the Disney/Marvel title to an offshore cume of $240.4M and — with this frame’s $85M domestic opening — a global prescription of $325.4M after just 13 days in release.

Benedict Cumberbatch’s cocky neurosurgeon-turned-sorcerer added 22 offshore markets in the session for a total of 53, notably entering China with a very strong $44.4M to make Doctor Strange the highest 3-day opening weekend for an original IP/first installment superhero film of all time. The start is also The Walt Disney Studios’ 3rd highest 3-day Middle Kingdom launch for an MCU pic, behind Avengers: Age Of Ultron and Captain America: Civil War.

The Scott Derrickson-helmed Doctor Strange is levitating against its comps. In the same suite of markets, it’s showing an overall 2nd frame drop of 38%. That’s better than those of Cap3 (-41%), Ant-Man (-42%), Guardians Of The Galaxy (-44%) and Thor: The Dark World (-46%).

With the Doctor in the house, there were no wide offshore openers this weekend. There were some milestones for existing pictures, however, with Bridget Jones’s Baby crossing the $200M mark at the worldwide box office. Finding Dory also finned it past Zootopia to become the No. 2 release of 2016 at global turnstiles and the No. 4 animated release ever.

Trolls expanded significantly, taking the international total past $100M. The Accountant also saw healthy growth in wider play, and Inferno has crossed $150M overseas. In Spain, A Monster Calls is now the No. 1 movie of 2016, after just 31 days.

In soft launches, Mel Gibson’s praised action drama Hacksaw Ridge debuted notably in Australia, and Nocturnal Animals flipped open a page in the UK — both were major world premieres at the Venice Film Festival and are beginning their awards season runs. Also new in the UK is A Street Cat Named Bob released by Sony and based on the bestselling book by James Bowen.

Breakdowns on the above and more have been updated below:

NEW
HACKSAW RIDGE

Mel Gibson’s return to directing after a decade has been hailed as a triumph since it first premiered to a 10-minute standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival. The WWII action drama about Desmond T Doss (Andrew Garfield) the conscientious objector who saved 75 men at Okinawa without ever firing or carrying a gun, opened this weekend in a handful of offshore markets, notably Australia. Precise figures are not yet available for the film, although comScore has it at $1.65M for the weekend.

Lionsgate releases domestically with offshore sold by co-financier IM Global (Cross Creek and Demarest Films also financed). Many are comping the film to Angelina Jolie’s Unbroken ($48M intl cume), but as momentum gets going this $40M-budgeted film could well out perform it. It’s got a leading 13 nominations from the top Australian awards body, AACTA, and is very likely to figure in the Oscar race. Reviews are stellar with an 87% fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes. It started off to a great $14.5M in North America this weekend with a 16% Friday to Saturday uptick in ticket sales, meaning word-of-mouth is working.

A STREET CAT NAMED BOB

The adaptation of the book by James Bowen about a recovering drug addict who gets a new lease on life after he meets a support worker and a stray ginger feline grossed $1.1M on 440 screens in the UK this weekend via Sony. The true story was a bestseller with the film version directed by Roger Spottiswoode. Luke Treadaway and Joanne Froggatt star, Bob plays himself. Rollout continues over the next few months with domestic release via Cleopatra Films on November 18.

NOCTURNAL ANIMALS

Tom Ford’s stylish noir was the subject of a $20M world rights deal in Cannes last year with Focus Features taking domestic and Universal handling overseas. The thriller, Ford’s sophomore directing effort, made a big impact when it world premiered at the Venice Film Festival in September, drawing raves, and just had its first official release in the UK this weekend before continuing offshore rollout and hitting U.S. theaters later this month in a limited run.

Starring Amy Adams and Jake Gyllenhaal, the pic drew an estimated $876K at a carefully selected 242 locations. It placed No. 5 and has the 4th best screen average in the market. Its best plays are in London where Ford has long been a fixture. More screens will be added next weekend and a long run is expected. Uni notes the opening is similar to Woody Allen’s Blue Jasmine and comping higher than Ford’s own A Single Man.

The movie is based on Austin Wright’s novel Tony And Susan, which Ford adapted, and focuses on Susan (Adams), an art gallery owner who is haunted by the novel her ex-husband Edward (Gyllenhaal) has written and unexpectedly sent to her. Unhappy in her present marriage and vacuous life in Los Angeles, she reads the violent thriller over a handful of nights. The audience follows along with the novel’s gritty West Texas story playing out on screen and with Edward as the lead character, Tony. He has titled the book Nocturnal Animals and dedicated it to Susan who, when not reading, revisits her relationship with him in flashback.

HOLDOVERS/EXPANSIONS
DOCTOR STRANGE

Great word-of-mouth is encouraging folks to make an appointment with Doctor Strange as the film continues to conjure mystical numbers in its 2nd frame. The sophomore weekend was worth $118.7M in 53 material territories. The overall international cume is now $240.4M after 13 days and $325.4M globally with the terrific $85M domestic opening included this weekend.

The film has one hour of exclusive IMAX expanded aspect ratio footage and the 380 overseas IMAX locations helped convert into the format’s biggest November weekend ever internationally ($12M), domestically ($12.2M) and globally ($24.2M), overtaking previous record holder Interstellar.

All markets this frame were led by China with a fantastic $44.4M for what is the best opening since the summer on a Hollywood title. In IMAX plays, Doctor Strange is the top November 3-day debut ever with $6.3M from 336 screens. There are 17 IMAX screens among the Top 20 grossing sites in the Middle Kingdom. (IMAX also set November opening records in India, Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Ecuador.)

There’s no question the fantasy elements and cutting-edge visuals are drawing auds to this supremely well-reviewed pic, but it also bears noting that China — along with No. 2 market Korea ($30.4M cume) — are major Cumber-hubs with Sherlock a massive hit in both.

The China opening hit several milestones including setting Doctor Strange as the highest 3-day debut weekend for an original IP/first installment superhero film of all time and the 3rd highest 3-day opening weekend for the Walt Disney Studios on an MCU film. DS also had the 2nd biggest 3-day November launch weekend behind last year’s Spectre.

Also in China, 100% of the gross came from 3D plays. The format was highly sought out in other markets as well: Germany (89%), Brazil (80%), Russia (68%) and France (39%)….

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