Hey filmmakers. Welcome to the 228th edition of Going Bionic.
Today we’re taking a peek into what films are dominating the international box office. While most everyone focuses on well films preform in North America, I’ve always felt it’s crucial to know what countries and cultures respond positively to certain genres – especially since the foreign markets are raking in box office income for America’s best tent pole offerings. So, without further ado, here is a rundown of how some key films have preformed overseas.
Guardians of the Galaxy
Marvel’s latest money-printing franchise was number one in 17 of the 65 territories it played in over the weekend. These included Australia, Brazil, Czech Republic, Denmark, Iceland, India, Israel, New Zealand, Norway, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Serbia & Montenegro, Sweden, Ukraine, and Venezuela. Collectively, the picture earned well over $17 million from the above 17 territories from Friday to Sunday. When adding the box office results from the 48 additional territories, Guardians of the Galaxy earned $33.1 million internationally over the weekend. The strong showing helped Guardians reach a $58.7 million cume overseas, and top $400 million worldwide.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Paramount’s remake of New Line Cinema’s 1990 hit has wrangled an impressive $67.5 million overseas since its release on August 6. The picture has been released in Chile, Ecuador, Hong Kong, Israel, Malaysia, Mexico, Norway, Peru, Poland, Singapore, Sweden, and the Ukraine. Its mightiest international territory thus far has been Mexico, where the Turtles fought their way to a $7,102,988 total.
How to Train Your Dragon 2
This dragon has slayed over $364.3 million overseas in 53 territories. These numbers include $33,193,547 from the UK, $29,812,548 from Russia-CIS, $25,923,000 from China, $24,381,349 from Brazil and $24,154,413, from Australia. The crazy truth here is that How to Train Your Dragon 2 has more than doubled its domestic box office total of $171,242,138. In fact, to date, the foreign box office totals for Dragon 2 account for 68% of the film’s box office income.
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Like How to Train Your Dragon 2, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes has made far more money overseas than it did domestically. While it has earned $201,897,136 domestically, it has earned $334,800,000 worldwide, in 52 territories. Those numbers clearly justify the film’s $170 million dollar production budget. As for the countries where “Apes” pounded its chest the loudest, those would be the UK at $45,848,728, South Korea with $30,594,006 and Mexico with $22,837,420.
What These Foreign Box Office Numbers Tell Us
Studio-based filmmakers are no longer tailoring their films toward the domestic box office. This is because in many cases, the majority of their film’s income is being earned in countries where English isn’t the primary language. Thus, these days, storytellers (i.e. directors, writers and creative producers) should be focusing on creating global stories for their global audience.
As we wrap up our 228th edition, I’d like to thank you once again for lending me your eyes, and I look forward to borrowing them once again next Tuesday. In the meantime, have a great week! I can be followed on Twitter @Lonelyseal.
