‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’ Awakens To Early $61M Overseas; $106M WW – International Box Office
UPDATE, WRITETHRU: In its first two days at the international box office, Disney/Lucasfilm’s Star Wars: The Last Jedi has shot off to $60.8M in 48 material markets. Combined with Thursday’s domestic previews, the worldwide bounty is $105.8M so far. The eighth installment in the sci-fi saga opened at No. 1 in all markets (save Turkey and Korea), setting 2017 milestones in many. Looking at the same suite of offshore play and at today’s exchange rates, Jedi‘s first two days are 63% above Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and 25% behind Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
The top bases through Thursday are the UK ($10.2M), Germany ($6.1M), France ($6M), Australia ($5.6M) and Brazil ($2.5M). In the UK, where the London premiere was held in royal fashion on Tuesday, and where cinemas are programming the movie around the clock, the return of Luke Skywalker scored the 3rd biggest opening day ever (behind Force Awakens and the final Harry Potter). Germany and Australia each saw the 2nd biggest opening day of all time, behind only Force Awakens.
The crowd-pleasing and critically-praised SWTLJ (93% Fresh on RT) was also the 2nd best launch day ever in New Zealand, Finland, the Netherlands, Sweden and Iceland. Along with the UK, Norway scored its 3rd best start of all time.
For the year, the Rian Johnson-helmed Jedi was the top opener in Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK. (As for Turkey and Korea, both markets have local films at No. 1.)
It’s not a surprise to see Jedi coming in under Force Awakens given the pent-up demand for a new Star Wars film after such a long wait in 2015. If the 25% spread holds throughout the frame, it puts Rey, Finn and Poe in line with pre-opening industry expectations. However, the picture will become much clearer once today’s numbers are tallied with Japan and Spain joining the Resistance. The consensus among sources is that this film will benefit from repeat viewings and a slower burn.
For reference, and in historical 2015 dollars, the opening weekend on TFA was led by the UK at $50.6M, followed by Germany ($27.5M), France ($22.5M), Australia ($19.6M) and Japan ($13.4M).
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