Refresh for latest…: Just as it came in lower than hoped for domestically, Universal/Blumhouse/Morgan Creek’s The Exorcist: Believer didn’t fully convert overseas audiences, summoning a $17.9M international box office debut for $45.1M global. The R-rated David Gordon Green-directed reboot/sequel did see some of its 52 launch markets give it a No. 1 start, while in like-for-likes, the bow is above M3GAN, Evil Dead Rise, Scream VI and Smile. (As regards the latter, recall that it legged out with terrific holds, so the comparison may not stick down the line since scores on Believer are not good, and Taylor Swift is on deck.)
Anthony has done a deep dive on the details behind Universal’s purchase of the Exorcist franchise and how this opening stacks against it. Read that here.
Overseas, supernatural horror tends to play best in Latin America, and Mexico did lead the charge this session for The Exorcist: Believer, levitating to $4M at No. 1 for the second-best start of a Blumhouse film post-pandemic. It’s in line with The Curse of La Llorona, and more than double Scream VI, M3GAN and Smile.
Before we dig into more numbers on Exorcist: Believer, let’s note that across town, Warner Bros celebrated a milestone this session with its international box office topping $2B for the year-to-date, while in general, this was largely a holdover frame before Swift takes over the world next weekend.
Turning back to Exorcist: Believer, the UK followed Mexico with $2.1M at No. 1, in line with The Nun II and above Evil Dead Rise and Smile. IMAX contributed 7% of the UK result. In general, The Exorcist: Believer is doing well in PLFs, with $800K from IMAX internationally and $3M global, a sign that folks are still looking for that premium experience.
Italy opened to $1.2M at No.1, having claimed the second-biggest Universal/Blumhouse opening day on Thursday. The weekend is in line with Halloween, and above all Annabelle and Conjuring films, as well as Evil Dead Rise, M3GAN, Scream VI, and more than double Insidious: The Red Door.
Spain opened to a dominant No.1 with $966K, on par with Insidious: The Red Door and M3GAN, and above Scream VI and Smile. Germany took $938K, in line with Insidious: The Red Door, and above Scream V.
Other notable markets include Indonesia with $881K. Wednesday there delivered the biggest Universal/Blumhouse opening day and the biggest for Blumhouse outside of the Insidious films. The weekend result is the third-biggest opening for a Universal/Blumhouse film, in line with M3GAN.
India launched with $655K, the third-best start for a Blumhouse title and more than 5x Halloween. Malaysia grossed $488K for the second-biggest Universal horror opening of all time.
Still to release are France, Brazil and parts of the Middle East this week, with Korea on October 18.
After taking top-dog status last session, Paramount/Spin Master’s Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie padded in with another solid $14M from 57 overseas markets, down 47% in the holdovers for an $87.1M global tally through Sunday. With 13 more markets opening this session, it’s now out in 64% of the international paw print.
Leading new bows was Brazil at No. 2 with $1.6M from 731 locations, followed by Korea at No. 5 with $355K from 374, Ukraine at No. 1 with $345K at 179, Finland at No. 1 with $340K at 128 and Belgium at a $330K No. 2 from 82.
The pups are led overall by China ($13.2M), Germany (where they held No. 1 and have now grossed $5.2M), Mexico ($4.5M), Australia ($4.1M) and Brazil ($1.6M). Also notable, the second weekend in Singapore was up 25% at No. 1 with $550K to date.
Markets still to open include the UK, France and Spain next week, and Japan on December 15.
New Regency/Disney’s The Creator added $10.8M from 50 offshore markets (-44%) for an overseas cume of $36.9M to date, and $61.8M global. Markets showing good holds include Spain (-17%), Australia (-26%), Germany (-31%), France (-33%), UK (-42%), Italy (-46%) and Mexico (-49%).
The Top 5 to date are the UK ($5.2M), France ($3.6M), Germany ($2.9M), Australia ($2.2M) and Spain ($2M).
The IMAX total is $7.8M global.
Warner Bros/New Line’s The Nun II scared up another $6.7M from 75 offshore markets for a 50% dip. The international cume is now $167.6M for $248.7M global. Japan is still to release on October 13.
The Top 5 markets to date are Mexico ($21.6M), Brazil ($10.7M), Indonesia ($9.2M), France ($7.9M) and the UK ($7.9M).
In local titles, Shah Rukh Khan-starrer Jawan climbed to an estimated $136.5M global, per Deadline sources. It’s the first Hindi movie to ever cross 1100 crore worldwide, Red Chillies Entertainment reported (and that includes $16M from the Middle East to make it the first Indian movie to reach that figure in the region). In China, the national holidays drew to a close with Maoyan reporting that total box office during the September 29-October 6 period amounted to RMB 2.734B ($376.7M), an 83% increase over 2022. Zhang Yimou’s Under the Light was the clear winner with $137.6M through today (of that $8M came from IMAX). Last week’s leader in Korea, Dr. Cheon and the Lost Talisman rose to $12.3M while newcomer Love Reset was tops with a $4.5M debut.
MISC UPDATED CUMES/NOTABLE
A Haunting in Venice (DIS): $4.4M intl weekend (52 markets); $67M intl cume/$102.7M global
The Equalizer 3 (SNY): $4M intl weekend (50 markets); $78.2M intl cume/$167.1M global
Oppenheimer (UNI): $2.1M intl weekend (83 markets); $616M intl cume/$939.1M global
Bernadette (WB): $1.6M intl weekend (France only); $1.6M intl cume
Gran Turismo: Based on a True Story (SNY): $1M intl weekend (53 markets); $73.6M intl cume/$117M global
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (PAR): $1M intl weekend (33 markets); $61.1M intl cume/$179.1M