World box office February 10-12

James Cameron blockbuster duo in first and third place globally

With the China Lunar New Year holiday now ended, both The Wandering Earth 2 and Full River Red suffered significant drops of at least 50% at the weekend, clearing a path for Disney’s Avatar: The Way Of Water to return to the global top spot in its ninth week of release.

The James Cameron blockbuster grossed an estimated $25.8m globally (down 39% in North America and 35% in international markets), taking the total to $2.214bn. A week ago, that cumulative total would have been enough to overtake Titanic to become the third-biggest global hit of all time, behind only Avatar ($2.92bn) and Avengers: Endgame ($2.80bn). However, the rerelease of Titanic at the weekend means that the romantic disaster epic narrowly maintains its lead over the Pandora adventure sequel.

Avatar: The Way Of Water is now the highest-grossing film of all time in 21 countries, including France, Austria, Turkey and New Zealand, and it’s the highest-grossing US studio film in a further five territories including India and South Korea.

More than 25 years after its original late-1997 release, Titanic returned to cinemas worldwide for pre-Valentine’s Day weekend, grossing an estimated $6.4m in North America and $15.9m for international. The latest takings push Titanic’s total to $2.217bn, narrowly maintaining the film’s lead over Avatar: The Way Of Water.

The Titanic reissue opened at the top spot in nine Disney markets: eight countries (including Italy and Belgium) plus the Central America region. It’s also the top US studio title for the February 10-12 weekend in six Asian markets including South Korea, Japan and India.

In box office, South Korea leads the international pack for the Titanic reissue with an estimated $2.5m, ahead of France ($1.6m), Mexico ($1.2m), UK/Ireland ($1.0m) and Japan ($1.0m).

The Titanic reissue was released in all international markets except China and Russia.

Also for Disney, Marvel’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever landed in China last Tuesday (February 7), grossing an estimated $12.0m in six days (and $6.0m for the February 10-12 weekend period). The global total now stands at $855.0m.

‘Magic Mike’s Last Dance’ lands with $18.6m

Warner Bros’ release of Steven Soderbergh’s Magic Mike’s Last Dance has landed top of the North America box office on Superbowl weekend with an estimated $8.2m, which adds to $10.4m for international (from 41 markets so far) and thus $18.6m globally.

The film landed in fifth place in the worldwide weekend chart – behind the Avatar sequel, Titanic and two Chinese titles.

Germany and UK/Ireland tied as the top two international markets, both with an estimated $1.9m at the weekend, ahead of Australia with $1.7m and Netherlands on $1.0m.

The film – which is billed as the final in a Magic Mike trilogy – was greenlit as an HBO exclusive, but has pivoted to theatrical for North America and many international markets.

Magic Mike’s Last Dance is chasing the $167.3m global total of the original film in 2012, and $117.8m achieved by 2015 sequel Magic Mike XXL. Japan welcomes the film on March 3.

‘Puss In Boots 2’ closes in on $400m worldwide

Universal’s release of DreamWorks Animation’s Puss In Boots: The Last Wish continues to quietly build up box office around the world, grossing an estimated $5.5m in North America (down 30%) and $12.1m for international (down 33%). Respective totals are $158.5m and $235.2m, combining for $393.7m worldwide.

The Puss in Boots sequel landed on as December 7 in its earliest releasing markets, meaning that it’s been playing for up to 10 weeks, although release dates are staggered, and UK/Ireland is currently only in the second week of play on the title.

Puss In Boots: The Last Wish has just overtaken Black Adam to become the 12^th-biggest US studio release of 2022 (and the 14^th-biggest overall, additionally behind two China titles). It’s the third-biggest animation of the pandemic era, behind two Illumination Entertainment titles: Minions: The Rise Of Gru ($939.6m) and Sing 2 ($408.4m) – both likewise distributed by Universal.

In cumulative totals, Mexico leads the way for The Last Wish, with $23.6m, ahead of France ($20.1m), Germany ($16.1m), Brazil ($14.8m) and Australia ($13.9m). UK/Ireland (with $11.0m after 10 days of play) has just overtaken Spain ($10.1m after eight weeks) to become the sixth-biggest international market for the film, and has the half-term school holiday this week, which should see steady business each day.

‘What’s Love Got To Do With It?’ scores in first major market

Studiocanal’s release of cross-cultural romantic comedy What’s Love Got To Do With It? has made a promising start in its first major territory, Australia. The film, which is directed by Shekhar Kapur from a screenplay by Jemima Khan, landed in Australia on January 26, and is now in its third week of release. Total so far is AUD$2.6m ($1.8m) after 18 days of play.

The film has also landed in some minor markets including Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia and United Arab Emirates.

Lily James and Shazad Latif stars as childhood best friends who grew up next door to each other in London. When Latif’s doctor character embarks on an arranged – or rather “assisted” – marriage, filmmaker James persuades him to let her make a documentary about the adventure.

What’s Love Got To Do With It? lands in its home market of UK/Ireland on February 24, via Studiocanal.

Babylon rises overseas

The narrative coming out of the US is that many of this year’s awards contenders have under-performed at the box office. What’s earned less attention is that several titles are performing better overseas.

A case in point is Paramount’s Babylon, which with $15.4m in North America is a box office disappointment given a pricey production budget reported at $80m. The international total for Babylon now stands at $41.0m, taking the global tally to $56.4m. It’s still a long way from profitability, given marketing costs and revenue splits with cinemas, but the international result represents a relative silver lining.

In cumulative totals, France leads the international pack for Babylon with $9.8m, ahead of UK/Ireland ($4.4m), then Australia and Italy tied in third place ($2.5m each). Spain and Germany have both grossed $2.2m, and Mexico $2.0m.

Meanwhile, Focus Features’ TÁR, which has grossed $6.5m in North America, has now reached $7.0m for international, and still has plenty of international play ahead of it. Germany, where the film is largely set, has yet to release, as have major markets South Korea, Mexico and Japan.

Saudi comedy ‘Sattar’ rises up all-time rankings

Saudi Arabian comedy Sattar has hit the all-time top 10 in its native country, following a long chart-topping reign. The film, which was released by Front Row Filmed Entertainment in Saudi Arabia on December 29, topped the country’s box office again in its seventh week of release, and has done so for six weeks in total, losing out only to Pathaan on the Indian spy action film’s debut week of play.

Total Saudi Arabian box office for Sattar is $8.3m and admissions total 630,000 – placing it seventh in the all-time admissions ranking. Titles recently overtaken by Sattar include Joker, The Batman, Cruella and Minions: The Rise Of Gru. The all-time admissions ranking is topped by Top Gun: Maverick and Spider-Man: No Way Home, with four Egyptian films coming next: Bahebak (aka I Love You), Waafet Reggaala (aka A Stand Worthy Of Men), Amohom (aka Their Uncle) and For Zeko.

Wrestling comedy Sattar stars popular Saudi Arabian actor and stand-up comedian Ibrahim Al Hajja, playing a man who decides to pursue his childhood dream of becoming a freestyle wrestler, following a string of failures in hisprofessional and personal life. Kuwaiti director Abdullah Al-Arak directs from a screenplay by Ibraheem Alkhairallah and Ayman Wattar, and AlShimaisi Films, Telfaz11 and Muvi Studios produce.

Cinemas reopened in Saudi Arabia in 2018 after a 35-year ban as part of the country’s Vision 2030 initiative and the National Transformation Plan.