Foreign Box Office: 'Django Unchained' Unleashed Overseas, No. 1 With $48 Million

Making its overseas debut in 54 markets, Django Unchained grossed an impressive $48.1 million -- enough to earn the Oscar Best Picture contender film the weekend’s No. 1 spot on the foreign theatrical circuit.

STORY: Why Quentin Tarantino Isn't Concerned With Violence in 'Django Unchained'

Sony, which is handling Quentin Tarantino's movie overseas, calculates that Django opened 30% ahead of Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds, which generated slightly more than $200 million in total overseas box office, about 60% of its worldwide take.

Django opened No. 1 in at least 23 markets including the U.K., Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Belgium and Poland “even with much of Europe buried under snow this weekend,” said Sony.

Starring Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz and Leonardo Di Caprio, Django registered a mighty $9.6 million at 620 sites in Germany, a full two-and-a-half times the market opening for Basterds (Waltz, who also starred in Inglourious is Austrian).

In France, the take was $7.3 million at 612 spots and $5.4 million from 936 Russia situations, $4.8 million at 580 sites in the U.K., $4.3 million at 517 locales in Italy and $3.3 million at 470 situations in Spain.

Unchained takes over the No. 1 spot from Ang Lee’s Life of Pi, which had topped the foreign charts for the prior two rounds. This time, the Twentieth Century Fox release registered $20.7 million on the weekend playing at 7,944 venues in 66 markets and lifting its foreign gross total to nearly $400 million ($393.9 million).

Introducing itself to limited foreign audiences inauguration weekend was Lincoln, Stephen Spielberg’s historical epic that drew a dozen Oscar nominations.  A Spain debut generated $2.3 million at 344 sites, enough for a No. 2 market ranking.  In Mexico, the ranking was No. 3 with $729,391 elicited from 259 situations. In all, the film played three markets, drawing $3.3 million from 605 screens.

This is just the start of Lincoln’s international campaign. Distributor Twentieth Century Fox said the film opens in 19 foreign markets this week including Brazil, Germany, Italy, Russia and the U.K.

Universal’s Mama, director Andres Muschietti’s horror outing -- which opened No. 1 in the U.S. and Canada -- premiered in just a half dozen smaller markets, deriving $1 million from 181 playdates.  A Korea opening for the Jessica Chastain vehicle is due this week.  

Also kicking off its foreign campaign – a week before opening in the U.S. and Canada -- was Hansel and Gretel: The Witch Hunters, Paramount/MGM’s 3D co-production distributed overseas by the former.

With Jeremy Renner and Gemma Arterton portraying the title pair as bounty hunters, the film opened No. 1 in action-friendly Russia, grossing $7.3 million at 650 venues. Paramount said 98% of the action came from 3D locations. Hansel and Gretel, expands its overseas run by 19 territories this week including Brazil, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore.

UniversalLes Miserables grossed $19.4 million on the weekend at 2,900 situations in 29 markets, pushing its foreign gross total to $150.5 million.  The musical opened No. 1 in Estonia, India, Indonesia, Norway and the Philippines.

Director Katherine Bigelow’s controversial Zero Dark Thirty, about the hunt for Osama Bin Laden has grossed $3.9 million over 17 days in Spain with the weekend providing $650,000 of the total at 242 playdates. Universal is handling the film in many overseas markets, and will open the Oscar nominee in the U.K., Finland, France and French-speaking Switzerland.

Paramount’s Tom Cruise action vehicle, Jack Reacher, is approaching the $100-million foreign gross mark ($98.8 million) after its fifth weekend of offshore play drew $11.8 million at 5,744 situations in 58 countries.  A South Korea opening generated $3.3 million at 415 locations, ranking No. 2 in the market.

Chugging along in its 12th round on the foreign circuit is Disney’s animation title,Wreck-It Ralph, which grossed another $8.2 million on the weekend from playdates in 60 territories. Foreign cume stands at $173.4 million.

Summit Ent.-Mediaset Espana’s production of The Impossible, distributed overseas by Lionsgate, has crossed the $100-million foreign gross mark ($106 million). Director Juan Antonio Bayona’s tsunami disaster epic costarring Naomi Watts and Ewan McGregor drew $7.9 million on the weekend at some 2,700 venues in in 47 territories highlighted by a $1.9 million opening round in South Korea.

Universal’s smash comedy, Ted, finally reached Japan where it opened to $4.3 million on the weekend at 134 playdates.  It’s the final international stop for the film, which has grossed an international total of $289.4 million. Parental Guidance, Fox’s comedy costarring Billy Crystal and Bette Midler, pushed its foreign cume to $29.5 million thanks to a $3.9 million weekend at 2,690 spots in 34 markets.

Opening No. 2 in France was Pathe’s release of Alceste A Bicyclette (Cycling With Moliere), director Philippe Le Guay’s comedy costarring Fabrice Luchini and Lambert Wilson about two actors mounting a Moliere play.  Debut round generated $2 million from 340 playdates. 

Top foreign markets in 2012:The U.K./ Ireland remained the No. 1 foreign territory for the “big six” Hollywood majors in 2012, throwing off $1.9 billion in all, according to the Rentrak box office tracking service, a record year. The percentage accrued to American titles has not yet been disclosed but it is estimated at $1.4 billion.

China emerged as the second biggest foreign territory for the Hollywood majors, and the world’s biggest movie market last year outside the U.S. What’s more, according to figures disclosed earlier this month by Chinese film authorities, American product took an increasing share of theatrical box office there.

China grossed a total of $2.7 billion in 2012, a 28% increase over 2011, with imported films accounting for $1.4 billion or 54% of the market gross. (Hollywood majors’ share of that pot is estimated at about $1 billion.)

For the first time, domestic films represented less than half the market. (In 2007, local films accounted for 67% of China’s total.) 303 films were released (227 Chinese titles, many Hong Kong productions) and 76 imports (most from Hollywood), attributed to the larger number of imported titles (34 versus 20) as a result of the U.S.-China film agreement in February, which increased the number of imported titles allowed per year.

Chinese comedy, Lost In Thailand, was the market’s biggest-grossing release ($160.5 million).

According to preliminary estimates, Japan generated approximately $1.7 billion in total box office, with a strong component of high grossing, locally-made films. Of the top10 foreign markets in 2012 for the Hollywood majors, Japan is likely to rank eighth. U.K. is first, then China, Russia, Mexico, France, Germany (throwing off an estimated $1.3 billion in total), Australia, Japan, Brazil ($819.5 million) and Korea.

Other international cumes:  Fox’s Break Up Man, $10.3 million in Germany and German-speaking Switzerland; DreamWorks/Paramount’s Rise of the Guardians, $191.7 million (after a $2.5 million weekend at 2,669 sites in 49 territories); Universal’s Anna Karenina, $34.9 million; Sony’s Hotel Transylvania, $173.8 million (after a $2.8 million weekend in 34 markets); Universal’s Pitch Perfect, $42.2 million; Sony/MGM’s Skyfall, $737.6 million (after a $2.1 million weekend at 1,645 venues in 31 markets); Universal’s This Is 40, $3 million; and Universal’s ParaNorman, $49.3 million.

Opening this week:  Paramount’s Flight in seven markets including Italy and Sweden; Sony’MGM’s Skyfall bows in China beginning tomorrow (Mon.);

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Foreign Box Office: 'The Hobbit' Holds No. 1 Overseas For Second Straight Weekend

With minimal competition from new holiday releases on limited overseas breaks, New Line/MGM’s The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey cleaned up on the foreign theatrical circuit for the second consecutive weekend, bagging $91 million at more than 18,600 screens in 59 markets.

Director Peter Jackson’s fantasy epic -- of the first installment of the director’s $500 million trilogy based on the J.R.R. Tolkien novel – took a relatively benign dip of 34% from its opening round and has compiled a foreign gross total to date of $284 million.

Meanwhile, Paramount’s latest Tom Cruise action title, Jack Reacher, premiered in seven offshore markets including Turkey, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Lebanon, collecting an estimated $2.5 million from 365 locations – for a per site average of nearly $6,850. The film opens in some 25 markets this week.

Universal opened Les Miserables costarring Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe and Anne Hathaway at 348 playdates in Japan for a weekend total of $4.2 million for a per-location average of more than $12,000. The musical update opens domestically on Christmas Day.

Universal also opened director Judd Apatow’s comedy, This Is 40, at eight screens in Slovenia. Results will be reported by the distributor on Monday. The film’s international rollout begins in earnest early next year.

The Hobbit drew a mighty opening gross in Russia ($16.8 million from 2,129 venues including previews), taking 75% of the weekend market. Distributor Warner Bros. said that in Russia, 65% of the total box office came from 3D venues.

To underscore the growth in recent years of the Russian territory, the distributor noted that the weekend debut paced 313% ahead of the opening Russia gross of Jackson’s Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, released in 2003 and the biggest foreign grosser of the LOTR titles.

Third largest single market was the U.K. where the holdover tally was $9.1 million at 1,546 locations for a No. 1 market ranking. Germany contributed $12.6 million at 1,408 sites, also No. 1. France came up with a No. 1 tally of $6.7 million at 690 spots; while Spain drew $4.2 million from 1,010 situations, a dominant No. 1 in the market. (Separately, IMAX said The Hobbit grossed $3.9 million internationally on the weekend.)

Placing a distant second on he weekend was Twentieth Century Fox’s release of Life of Pi, the film version of Yann Martel’s novel about a young castaway and a Bengal tiger.

Directed by Taiwanese-born Ang Lee, the Fox 2000 co-production drew $23.2 million overall on the weekend (from 6,330 sites in 46 markets), buoyed by openings in 35 new territories. A No. 2 U.K. premier delivered $5.8 million from 1,074 situations. A No. 3 France debut came up with $2.9 million from 637 spots while Mexico registered $2.2 million at 1,074 situations. A fabulously successful China run ended with a market cume of $90.3 million.

Third was DreamWorks' Rise of the Guardians, which collected $13.7 million in its sixth round overseas from 6,251 locations in 60 markets. The Paramount release, a $145 million fantasy title featuring the voices of Alec Baldwin and Hugh Jackman, lifted its foreign gross total well past the $100-million mark ($142.9 million).

Sony/MGM’s Skyfall, the 23rd installment of the James Bond franchise, grossed $9 million from 71 markets handled by Sony and licensees of co-distributor MGM.

The third outing starring Daniel Craig as 007 has collected a total foreign gross of $694.3 million of which Sony-handled territories accounted for $607.1 million. Since its overseas opening on Oct. 26, Skyfall has accumulated more than $260 million more that the $432.2 total foreign gross of the previous franchise box office record holder, 2006’s Casino Royale, also starring Craig.

Wreck-It Ralph, Disney’s 3D family animation title, boosted its foreign take to $7.3 million its eighth round in 34 territories, and nudged its foreign gross total $67.6 million. Thanks to its strong domestic performance, the film has grossed a worldwide total of $239.5 million.

Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 from Summit/Lionsgate International finished the weekend with $6.6 million drawn from some 8,000 screens in 73 overseas markets. A Hong Kong debut at 40 sites generated an estimated $980,000.

The sequel’s foreign cume broke the half-billion mark ($513.2 million), making the fifth and final title based on Stephenie Meyer’s series of novels about a young woman (Kristen Stewart) in love with a vampire (Robert Pattinson) the franchise’s all-time offshore box office champ by a wide margin -- beating last year’s The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1, which collected $430.9 million.

Universal’s rom/com-musical Pitch Perfect grossed $6 million from 1,270 locations thanks largely to eight new market openings, the best of which was in Germany ($2.3 million at 387 spots, No. 2 in the territory). The film’s early international gross total stands at $20.1 million.

Top local language newcomer in France was Mars Distribution’s De L’autre Cote De Periph starring Omar Sy. The police caper about two mismatched cops assigned to a murder case drew $4 million from some 450 screens, sufficient for a No. 2 market ranking. The Weinstein Co. has domestic distribution rights.

Sony Animation’s Hotel Transylvania, a comedy voiced by Adam Sandler and Kevin James about a boy who discovers Dracula is real, grossed $1.6 million from 55 markets. The title’s foreign gross total stands at $164.6 million.

Other international cumes: Universal’s Anna Karenina, $19 million; Universal’s Colpi Di Fulmine, $3.5 million over two rounds in Italy only; and Universal’s Ted, $284.2 million. 

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