GLOBAL: 'Amazing Spider-Man 2' Nets Big Debut Ahead of North American Release as 'Rio 2' Claims the Top Spot Overseas; 'Frozen' Becomes the Highest Grossing Animated Film of All Time Overseas; China Tops North America in 'Transcendence' Day-and-Date Debut

on April 20, 2014

KEY POINTS:

- Rio 2 leads another weekend at the overseas box office with a $48 million take from 65 markets. The animated sequel is now up to $276.8 million worldwide.

- The Amazing Spider-Man 2 opens to $47 million from 14 overseas markets two weeks ahead of its North American release, registering the biggest overseas opening of the year.

- Captain America: The Winter Soldier crosses $500 million worldwide.

- Frozen becomes the highest grossing animated release of all time overseas.

- China outperforms North America in the day-and-date opening of Transcendence.

- The Other Woman takes an early debut from 4 overseas markets ahead of its North American premiere, finishing the weekend with a $5.3 million bow.

Rio 2 took the overseas box office crown once again after taking off with $48 million from 65 markets, sending its overseas total soaring to $201.5 million and registering a $276.8 million global cume.

The animated film performed exceptionally well in China, where a $7.5 million hold boosted its running total in the market up to $23 million. Mexico also put up a strong hold with a #2 finish from a $4.3 million finish across 2,000 screens, taking its local cume up to $18.2 million.

Other top performers for Rio 2 include France ($3.8M Weekend / $9.5M Cume), Brazil ($2.5M Weekend, $22.6M Cume), and a $2.4 million opening weekend in Italy.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 hit screens in 14 overseas markets two weeks ahead of its North American premiere. The (latest) Spidey sequel scored the biggest overseas opening weekend of 2014 with a $47 million debut leading into the Easter holidays.

The sequel’s overseas roll-out included a $2.3 million tally from 50 IMAX screens, equivalent to a $47,000 per-screen average.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 netted a $15 million debut from the United Kingdom, the biggest opening of the year in the market, while reporting the market's biggest Friday IMAX numbers for any Marvel title. Mexico caught $11.1 million in its debut, the biggest opening of the year in the market and 26% ahead of Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Germany enjoyed a $6.2 million bow and Spain took a $3.9 million opening weekend, where the film finished in second place behind the blockbuster run of domestic hit Ocho Apellidos Vascos.

The Spider-Man sequel will swing over to Italy, Japan, Nertherlands, Russia, South Korea and 21 more markets next weekend.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier crossed the $500 million global mark after opening in Japan, its final overseas territory. The superhero sequel took a #2 debut in Japan with $2 million, finishing behind the blockbuster run of Frozen. South Korea took the #1 spot for the fourth consecutive weekend.

The Winter Soldier grossed $35.3 million in its fourth frame overseas to reach a $385.1 million cume outside of North America and $586.6 million global total. The sequel is currently 158% ahead of the lifetime gross of its predecessor.

Top markets for the film include a whopping $98.4 million from China, $28.1 million from South Korea, $27.7 million from the UK, and $23.4 million from Mexico.

Captain America’s #2 bow in Japan isn't a total disappointment for Disney, as Frozen continued its strong run in the country en route to becoming the highest grossing animated release of all time overseas, passing Ice Age 4 with a $1.129 billion worldwide cume. Frozen now moves up to sixth place among the highest grossing films of all time globally.

A $7.6 million weekend overseas is another victory as Frozen completed its 22nd weekend in release. The animated film has grossed a total of $729.3 million overseas. Top markets for the film include a massive $104.1 million run in Japan, $76.9 million from South Korea, and $65.2 million from the United Kingdom.

Disney releases have now grossed over $1 billion in global box office in 2014, the fastest time the studio has ever reached this milestone.

Noah gathered $21.6 million from 6,902 locations in 56 markets during the holiday weekend. The film’s overseas total is now up to $197.4 million as it approaches the $300 million global mark with a worldwide total of $290.6 million.

Noah had no new openings this weekend but posted strong holds in several overseas markets. Brazil posted a $3.7 million hold from 490 cinemas on its third weekend, only a 227% slide from its previous frame to finish the weekend in second place and reach a successful $22.9 million local cume. Noah is Paramount’s highest grossing film of all time in Brazil. It is also Paramount’s highest grosser of all time in Turkey, where it has earned $4.6 million in only three frames.

Noah took $2.1 million from 485 locations in Italy, a 45% dip from last weekend’s debut, to reach a $6.9 million total in the country. The film also held well in France ($2M Weekend / $7M Cume), Germany ($2M Weekend / $9M Cume), and the United Kingdom ($1.4M Weekend / $12.9M Cume).

Divergent crossed the $200 million mark worldwide after taking $18.1 million from 67 overseas markets in its latest overseas tally. The film has now grossed an overseas total of $75.3 million and reached a $209.2 million global cume.

The film enjoyed a $2.2 million bow in South Korea, where IMAX previews contributed to a solid start at 507 screens. Brazil was the other major market to debut over the weekend, posting a $2.1 million take from 381 screens, 56% ahead of the first Twilight film.

Other top performers for the Young Adult adaptation include France ($2.2M Weekend / $6.5M Cume), Germany ($1.6M Weekend / $4.5M Cume), and Australia ($1.5M Weekend / $6.1M Cume). Top grossing markets include the UK ($9.2M), Mexico ($6.6M), and Russia ($5.3M).

Divergent expands to Spain and Sweden on April 30 and reaches Japan on July 12

The marketing around Transcendence bet big on China ahead of the film’s day-and-date release in the market. Johnny Depp traveled to the country for the first time on a marketing tour that promoted the film’s only 3D release in the world. Previously, RoboCop had found success in the market by releasing a 3D version of the film exclusively to Chinese audiences.

The gamble paid off after Transcendence reached an $11.4 million debut in China from 6,000 screens (180 IMAX). The film fared significantly worse in other markets, however, as the Johnny Depp vehicle only managed to gross $17.4 million from its first 27 overseas markets. Transcendence struggled out of the gate in North America as well, where its opening weekend took less money than its Chinese debut with an $11.1 million bow.

Transcendence is off to a shaky start globally, with a $28.5 million worldwide cume. The film will hope to improve its box office performance with an expansion to bigger markets starting next weekend, including Germany, Australia, and the United Kingdom.

The LEGO Movie built up another $7.6 million from around 2,980 screens to reach an overseas total of $189.4 million. The animated film opened in New Zealand with a $803k take from 165 screens (including previews). Top markets for the animated film include the United Kingdom ($54.1M), Australia ($20.5M), and France ($12.1M).

The LEGO Movie has grossed $441.6 million worldwide.

The Grand Budapest Hotel brought in $6 million from 37 overseas markets to bring its total outside of North America up to $73.9 million. The Wes Anderson film has grossed more than $100 million worldwide, a major milestone for the art-house director, and is currently reporting a $118.8 million worldwide cume.

Ocho Apellidos Vascos crossed the $50 million mark in Spain as it became the biggest film ever in admissions in the market with 6.43 million tickets sold. The Spanish comedy has now occupied the #1 spot for six consecutive weeks, including a $5.8 million showing at 330 dates in its latest frame. The weekend gross gave the film a 44% market share and had it earning twice as much as #2 debut The Amazing Spider-Man 2. Ocho Apellidos Vascos is currently the fourth highest grossing film of all time in Spain with $52.8 million and is the highest grossing domestic film of all time in its home country.

The Other Woman opened in four overseas markets ahead of its North American debut, finishing its first weekend of release with $5.3 million from 447 screens. The film saw a great debut from Australia, where it landed with a $4.2 million bow to take second place in the market. The Other Woman expands to 28 additional markets next weekend.

French comedy Babysitting took a #3 debut in its home country with a $3 million bow at 350 dates.

Mr. Peabody and Sherman added $2.2 million from 19 overseas markets this weekend to take its total outside of North America up to $151.5 million. The animated film has grossed a total of $258.6 million worldwide.

Tags: overseas, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Rio 2, Noah, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Frozen, Divergent, Transcendence, The Other Woman, The LEGO Movie, The Grand Budapest Hotel