‘Wonka’ Hits Sweet Milestone As Musical Tops $500M WW; ‘Beekeeper’ Buzzes To $37M Global Bow, ‘Mean Girls’ Clicks With $35M – International Box Office

Nancy Tartaglione
·6 min read
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Refresh for latest…: Warner Bros/Village Roadshow/Heyday Films’ Wonka continues its sweet run, crossing the $500M mark globally this weekend. The worldwide cume through Sunday is $505.3M including $329.1M from the international box office — and with Korea, which has a fondness for Hollywood musicals, still to release at the end of the month.

The Timothée Chalamet-starrer added $15.3M in 77 overseas markets this frame with another series of terrific holds in Spain (-1%), Australia (-36%), Mexico (-36%), the UK (-43%) and Brazil (-44%).

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Crossing the five-century benchmark also makes Wonka director Paul King’s highest-grossing film ever. Wonka originally opened internationally beginning December 6, 2023 and in North America on December 15, 2023.

WB Motion Picture Group Co-Chairs and CEOs Mike De Luca and Pamela Abdy commented today, “With Wonka, Paul King, producer David Heyman and the amazing cast and crew led by Timothée Chalamet have delivered a truly special musical event. It is incredibly validating to see this film achieve such an exciting milestone. We are grateful to our partners in exhibition for their unwavering support and the audiences around the globe who came out for this big-screen celebration. Congratulations to the filmmakers, cast and our colleagues around the world – this is a sweet start to 2024.”

The Top 5 markets to date are the UK at a fantastic $71.1M, France with $25.4M, Mexico at $24.4M, Australia with $21M and Germany at $20.9M.

This second frame of 2024 also offered a pair of new titles in Miramax’s The Beekeeper and Paramount’s Mean Girls.

The former, directed by David Ayer, buzzed into 49 offshore markets this session, grossing an estimated $20.4M. In like-for-like markets (excluding China and Russia), the start is 27% above Wrath of Man, 29% bigger than Plane and 23% over the first John Wick. The global 3-day is estimated at $37.1M. In IMAX, The Beekeeper grossed $8.1M worldwide.

The Jason Statham-starrer performed best in China where he’s a strong draw. At No. 4 with $4.4M, The Beekeeper was the No. 1 import for the frame which was led again by local comedy Johnny Keep Walking! ($108.5M running cume).

Germany and Austria opened to No. 1 with an estimated $2.85M, coming in +152% on Wrath of Man, +117% on Plane, +45% on John Wick 2 and on par with The Equalizer.

The Middle East collectively opened at No. 1 with $2.7M, above the comps and on par with John Wick 2. Australia and New Zealand bowed to a combined $1.4M, in line with Wrath of Man. Other key openings were in Mexico ($1.3M), UK ($1.2M), Ukraine ($919K), Italy ($780) and Spain ($729K).

Markets still to come include Scandinavia, Korea and Japan.

Mean Girls, meanwhile, bowed in just 16 offshore markets, clicking with $6.5M including No. 1 debuts in Australia ($2.3M) and Mexico ($1.7M). The rollout represents 47% of the international footprint with the UK and New Zealand due next weekend, followed by Germany on January 25 and Belgium on February 7. The global 3-day is $34.5M.

Directed by Samantha Jayne and Arturo Perez Jr., Mean Girls was written by Tina Fey, based on the stage musical for which she wrote the book, with music by Jeff Richmond and lyrics by Nell Benjamin.

Although considered more of a domestic play, the film is doing well in urban, upscale theaters in key overseas cities, and reviews and positive word of mouth across all markets bode well for the rest of the run. The strong digital campaign has seen impact offshore where U.S. comedies tend to be favored in Anglo-Saxon markets. Perhaps the musical aspect is helping here, as well as giving younger folks a chance to see this take on the big screen after having discovered the original 2004 movie online, and maybe go with their moms for the experience.

Rounding out the Top 5 markets are Brazil at $590K from 320 locations, France with $360K from 385 and Spain with $330K at 275 sites.

In holdover news, Warner Bros/DC’s Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom surfed to another $16.6M in 78 overseas markets. The international running total now stands at $265.5M and the worldwide tally through Sunday is $373.7M.

Japan debuted this session to an estimated $1.6M on 986 screens at No. 1. The results are ahead of the opening weekend of The Flash by 8% and Black Adam by 41%. The IMAX global cume now stands at $32.8M.

Here are the Top 5 markets to date: China ($57.5M), Mexico ($19.6M), France ($16.8M), Germany ($14.4M) and Brazil ($12.4M).

Universal/Illumination’s Migration flew to another $8.9M from 74 overseas markets for a 50% drop. The international cume is now $86.9M with global at $172.6M.

Korea was the latest market to join the flock with a start of $992K and a terrific 98% CGV Egg rating with winter school holidays underway. Drops across EMEA were heavier heading into the weekend with a number of markets having finished school holidays. Individual holds were good with Spain notably up 30%.

Germany still leads play at $13.5M, above the lifetimes of Sing 2, Toy Story 4, Kung Fu Panda 3, Trolls, Ralph Breaks the Internet and Coco. The Top 5 is rounded out by France ($9.8M), Mexico ($7.5M), Australia ($7M) and Spain ($4M).

Still to come are the UK and Japan.

Disney’s Wish overall saw a steeper drop than last frame, but had significant holds in Spain (+8%), Denmark (-19%), Australia (-28%) and Brazil (-29%). The weekend granted $8.6M in 51 markets for a running overseas total of $160.4M and $223.4M global.

The Top 5 markets to date are Japan ($20.9M), France ($19.6M), Germany ($15.8M), UK ($15M) and Italy ($9.8M).

Sony’s romcom Anyone But You is benefiting from great word of mouth, dipping by just 13% overseas for a $5.1M weekend in 23 markets. The international cume is $22.8M for $78M worldwide. There was a massive 15% jump in the UK this weekend, lifting the Will Gluck-directed Glen Powell/Sydney Sweeney-starrer to $6.9M locally. Australia leads play with $8.9M.

Upcoming key market releases include Germany, Mexico, Spain, France, Brazil and Italy throughout January.

While we don’t have the full international weekend numbers for Searchlight’s Poor Things, the Venice Golden Lion winner continues to do great business. The global estimate (including domestic’s 4-day) is now $23.8M, of which $6.1M is from just six overseas markets. Notably this session, the Emma Stone-starrer bowed at No. 2 in the UK with $2M ($2.3M including previews). It also opened in Finland (No. 1) and Norway (No. 4); it posted the best opening weekend ever for a Yorgos Lanthimos film in both markets. In already opened markets, Poor Things held by +2% in Australia and -3% in Greece. The Greece cume to date ($1.7M) is already above the final total of The Favourite after just 14 days of release.

MISC UPDATED CUMES/NOTABLE
Night Swim (UNI): $2.5M intl weekend (40 markets); $10.6M intl cume/$29.7M global
Napoleon (SNY): $1.6M intl weekend (56 markets); $155.3M intl cume/$216.7M global
The Holdovers (UNI): $1.4M intl weekend (14 markets); $4.2M intl cume/$22.8M global

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