‘Inferno’ Ignites With $50M Offshore; ‘Miss Peregrine’

Refresh for latest… The big addition to international markets this weekend was Sony’s Inferno with a $50M start in 53 markets. The Ron Howard-helmed threequel adapted from Dan Brown’s 2013 book bowed to No. 1 in 45 and is the top movie worldwide this frame. Sony says Inferno is currently tracking 8% above Jason Bourne which it’s comping in the same group of markets at current exchange rates. In IMAX, the launch was worth $2.6M on 239 screens for the company’s 2nd best international October opening ever. Howard again produces with Brian Grazer.

Tom Hanks returns to star as Professor Robert Langdon. This time, he wakes up in an Italian hospital with amnesia and teams up with Dr Sienna Brooks (Felicity Jones), as they race across Europe to stop a madman from unleashing a global virus that would wipe out half the world’s population.

Key markets releasing included the UK, Germany, Russia, Brazil, Spain and Italy where the movie was partly shot. On a $75M budget, the thriller comes in at half the cost of the previous franchise entries. The first, in 2006, was coming off the mega-bestseller, The Da Vinci Code, and grossed $540M offshore. Follow-up Angels & Demons dropped to $353M. The opening on Inferno is 81% of what Angels & Demons did when it debuted, using today’s dollars.

The biggest markets on the previous films were a mix of Japan, Germany, the UK, Italy and Spain.

Also new this weekend is Warner Bros’ domestic champ, The Accountant, with a $2.8M start in Korea and nine smaller markets. In holds, Fox’s Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children has flown well past $100M with $130.9M to date offshore. Last week‘s new entry The Girl On The Train has now rolled to $33.1M overseas while Bridget Jones’s Baby is nearing the $150M mark abroad and The Secret Life Of Pets is sidling up to $500M.

In China news, Steven Spielberg’s The BFG entered the Middle Kingdom on Friday and is looking at an unofficial $13.8M for the weekend in 2nd place. We are waiting on an official number.

Breakdowns are being updated below…

NEW
INFERNO

Seven years after Angels & Demons, Tom Hanks is back as professor/puzzle-solver Robert Langdon. He’s again surrounded by a U.S. and international cast which includes Ben Foster, Felicity Jones, Omar Sy, Irrfan Khan and Borgen’s Sidse Babett Knudsen. The 53 markets in which Inferno bowed to $50M this weekend represent 66% of the international footprint. Of those it’s No. 1 in 45. The third film in the Da Vinci Code franchise spawned by Dan Brown’s 2003 novel has a production cost of $75M, which is half budget of the first two pictures. It’s rolling out overseas two weeks ahead of a domestic bow on October 28. Sony says Inferno is currently tracking 8% above Jason Bourne ($247.5M intl/$162.1M dom/ $409.6M WW to date) in the same group of markets, putting it on a path to be “the #1 action thriller of 2016.”

The first film in the series was so anticipated that a specially decked out Eurostar was chartered to bring the cast to the Cannes Film Festival in 2006. It went on to gross $758M globally. Sequel Angels & Demons chanted up $489M worldwide in 2009, similarly off of a May bow. Neither film was particularly well-reviewed although Angels & Demons came in higher on the Tomatometer at 37% versus Da Vinci’s 25%. It’s early to extrapolate an RT score on Inferno given there are only 46 reviews counted, but it’s currently at 24%. Regardless, the want-to-see factor remains high — Brown’s novels are published in 56 languages around the world with over 200 million copies in print and Inferno was a big bestseller set against Dante’s circles of Hell.

The lead market on Inferno is Italy with a $5M bow. This follows the world premiere in Florence and location shooting there and in Venice. Italy has ranked in the Top 5 on the previous films in the series. Germany took $4.4M on 766 screens and is in a tight race for No. 1 with Finding Dory. Russia similarly opened to $4.4M, 1,900 screens. The UK bowed to $3.8M on 850 and Spain cashed in $2M on 525. Both the UK and Spain have also previously figured in the Top 5 overall markets. There’s competition in Spain, however, with local son JA Bayona’s A Monster Calls holding on to No. 1 again. The Netherlands scored $1.2M on 125 screens.

Inferno fired up Latin America with No. 1 openings in all 11 markets, earning a combined $9M, which is 91% bigger than the opening of Jason Bourne. Brazil led with $4M (including previews) from 829 screens, followed by Mexico’s $2.6M from 1,945 screens.

South East Asia saw No. 1s in six out of seven markets for a combined $6M. Among the starts were Taiwan ($1.7M/180 screens), India ($1.3M/1,025) and Indonesia ($1M/200). Australia launched with $1.8M from 367. Inferno opened to No. 1 across the Middle East for a regional total of $1.8M on 80.

Upcoming major releases on include Korea (October 19), China (October 28), Japan (October 28), and France (November 9).

The previous two films in the franchise are the best international performers ever for Hanks who is also currently playing a savior of a different sort in Warner Bros’ Sully which has landed $57.2M to date overseas.

THE ACCOUNTANT

In a staggered release, Warner Bros opened the ledger on The Accountant in 10 international markets this weekend. Those were mostly in Asia with the Ben Affleck-starrer tabulating $2.8M on 1,190 screens. This is a small grouping of markets on the $40M budget pic that’s got an A CinemaScore in the States, and it’s still early days overseas where rollout continues through November.

Taiwan scored $755K on 109 screens. The first outing more than doubled the results for comps Argo, The Town and The Girl On The Train. In other comps, it’s higher by 26% than Jack Reacher and 5% beyond Gone Girl. Korea was the major market bow in a very competitive field of local and offshore fare. The opening generated $346K on 365 screens, outperforming the debut of Affleck’s The Town by 33%, but falling well short of Gone Girl which was a huge hit there. Hong Kong grossed $322K on 44 screens for No. 1 and topping The Magnificent Seven which likewise rode into town this frame. The score is also 171% over The Town, 130% above Argo and 5% tougher than Jack Reacher.

Germany, Brazil and Spain open next weekend on the Gavin O’Connor-directed pic.

AMERICAN HONEY

The Cannes Film Festival Jury Prize winner from British director Andrea Arnold rocked into 12 Universal territories this weekend for a $300K start at 193 dates. A coming-of-age drama that stars Shia LaBeouf and Sasha Lane in a breakout performance notably opened in the UK following its London Film Festival debut. The weekend estimate is $204K including LFF previews of $36K. After a slow start on Friday, it saw the best daily rise for a non-family film on Saturday.

Germany bowed to $88K at 84 dates and German-speaking Switzerland brought in $26K at 11 dates. Arnold has twice won the Jury Prize before and is a critical darling. The more commercial American Honey will look to tap into a younger audience to better her previous outings, Red Road and Fish Tank. Universal’s next major releases are Australia on November 3 and Spain on November 11.

HOLDOVERS/EXPANSIONS

MISS PEREGRINE’S HOME FOR PECULIAR CHILDREN
Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children welcomed another $23.5M from 72 markets in the third frame. The Fox film from Tim Burton now has an international cume of $130.9M. Holds were strong, including in France (-27%) where it is again No. 1 with a $9.5M cume, and Korea where it’s holding the top spot amongst MPA titles with a cume of $18M.

The UK is currently the 2nd biggest market behind Korea with a 42% drop for $11.5M to date. Russia follows with $11.1M and No. 2 in the sophomore session. Elsewhere, Germany dipped 21% to cume $5.6M; Brazil slid 24% for $8.27M to date; and Mexico is at $8.9M.

Italy enrolls in December and Japan follows in February next year.

STORKS

Warner Bros’ animated family film put another $10.6M in the nest from approximately 7,300 screens in 58 international markets. The full egg to date is $71.6M. The UK opened to $2.7M in 5th. Including sneaks, that tops the starts of Hotel Transylvania (+27%) and Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs 1 & 2 (+39%/+42%, respectively). France delivered $1.1M on 487 screens, also in 5th, and besting the first Cloudy by 41%, including sneaks. In the 4th session in Latin America, there was a 34% drop. Mexico has cumed $7.1M so far with Brazil at $4.8M. Storks lands in Italy this week.

BRIDGET JONES’S BABY

Universal Pictures, Miramax and Studiocanal’s presentation of Working Title’s threequel put $10.4M in the oven this frame in 56 territories. The offshore total on the comedy is $141.8M. The Universal worldwide total is $165.4M. Opening this weekend, Belgium was a No. 1 start with $584K at 74 dates and besting fellow newcomers Don’t Breathe, Deepwater Horizon and Storks.

In the UK, Bridget is cradling a $54M total after 31 days and holding at No. 3 in the 5th frame. In the Netherlands on Wednesday, the film became the highest-grossing Working Title picture of all time with $8.1M — passing Notting Hill, which held the record for 17 years.

Studiocanal has France and the No. 2 slot at the box office this weekend with a 12-day total of $7.3M. Bridget, Mr Darcy and Jack are due in six more territories over the next two months including German-speaking Switzerland and Indonesia this week. The next major is Japan on October 29.

THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN

Now with a total $33.1M overseas, the DreamWorks adaptation drank up $500K in seven Universal territories and $8.5M in those handled by Mister Smith Entertainment. Uni’s markets include Colombia ($452K to date), Trinidad ($11K start) and Malaysia ($143K). Via eOne in the UK, The Girl has chugged to $17M off of a sophomore session worth…

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