Warner Bros/DC’s Aquaman joined the billion-dollar club worldwide this session, now counting $732.4M at the international box office and $1.02B global. The milestone makes the James Wan-directed origins story the 5th movie released in 2018 to get across $1B, behind Avengers: Infinity War, Black Panther, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom and Incredibles 2. It is also WB’s 2nd highest-grossing movie ever overseas and the 5th title in WB history to reach $1B.
The Jason Momoa-starrer has been riding a huge wave offshore since it first traveled to China in early December and now joins The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises as the only DC pics to the billion-dollar threshold. This weekend it passed The Dark Knight globally; TDKR made $1.08B during its run. Japan, although it is not a huge DC hub, is still to release on February 8.
Wan is now breathing some rarefied air, having two movies gross over a billion. The other is Universal’s Furious 7 from 2015.
He said today, “Firstly, Massive love and thank you to the fans and audiences around the world. Humbled by the way you’ve embraced Aquaman and how it has resonated on a global scale. I’ll forever be indebted to Jason for turning Aquaman into one of the coolest, cinematic superheroes ever, and becoming the gold standard for this character for generations to come. Huge thank you to the amazing cast — Amber, Patrick, Nicole, Yahya, Willem, Temuera, Dolph, Ludi — for breathing life into our beloved characters. And, of course, this movie wouldn’t be what it is without the incredible achievement of everyone involved, from the heads of department to every single crew member, who demanded utmost excellence in helping design and create this cinematic experience.”
WB’s Worldwide Distribution President, Ron Sanders, added, “We’re thrilled audiences around the world have embraced Aquaman in such a big, big way. Jason, the filmmakers and the team at DC have delivered a film that people love, and we are so appreciative of their support.” The film helped WB hit double milestones in 2018, scoring a studio record $5.57B worldwide and $3.62B international. Even rivals have marveled at the success of the underwater adventure which has breathed new life into the DC brand. While it got knocked out of the No. 1 position last weekend (its 5th in overseas release), Aquaman previously held the title for four in a row.
The studio movie that’s coming in again above Aqua is Paramount’s Bumblebee which tuned up another $35.6M in 64 markets to cume $256.3M internationally. Still buzzing along nicely in China, the Transformers spinoff crossed $100M there during the frame and now counts $10M from IMAX in just that market.
IMAX also set a new milestone with Fox’s Bohemian Rhapsody. In Japan, it has become the format’s biggest grosser ever there, topping Star Wars: The Force Awakens, with $8.5M. The full Japanese gross is $81.5M.
Elsewhere, Sony’s Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse has crossed $300M global while Disney’s Mary Poppins Returns is nearing the the three-century mark. WB’s A Star Is Born also hit a new high with $200M internationally and $403.5M worldwide.
Next weekend, Disney rolls out M Night Shyamalan’s Glass internationally. Universal has domestic in what is a wide day-and-date release.
Breakdowns on the films above and more have been updated below. (International Box Office is slightly abridged today.)
HOLDOVERS/EXPANSIONS
BUMBLEBEE
Paramount’s Transformers reboot was tops again this weekend, fueled by a strong performance in China where it has now grossed $105.7M and was the lead movie in that market — down just 58% — despite some new local entries. With $35.6M in 64 markets this weekend, the offshore cume is now $256.3M.
Major market totals elsewhere now include the UK ($13.5M), Mexico ($11M), France ($8.5M) and Germany ($7.3M). Japan releases on March 22.
AQUAMAN
Sailing past the $1B mark worldwide, WB/DC’s Aquaman took in $27.9M this weekend on 13,154 screens in 79 overseas markets. The running offshore cume is now $732.4M, which makes the Jason Momoa-starrer now the 2nd biggest WB film ever abroad. At $1.02B global, it is James Wan’s 2nd directorial effort to join the club (after Universal’s Furious 7) and is the 2nd biggest DC movie, currently behind The Dark Knight Rises. Warner now counts five films in its history that have topped $1B: Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows – Part 2, TDKR, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Aquaman and The Dark Knight.
The lead market is of course China where the film is still enjoying its extended run and has grossed $287.3M to date. The top market this weekend was Australia where Aqua jumped back up to No. 1 in a holiday corridor with a $23.5M cume. Italy also held well in its sophomore session, cuming $10.2M after two weekends.
The Top 10 hubs, and with Japan still to come on February 8, are China ($287.3M), Korea ($38.2M), Brazil ($32M), Mexico ($28.6M), the UK ($25.8M), France ($24.1M), Australia ($23.5M), Germany ($20.4M), Russia ($18.9M), Indonesia ($17.5M).
DRAGON BALL SUPER: BROLY
Fox International’s Dragon Ball Super: Broly got an expanded release this weekend, heading outside of Japan to 17 more markets for a terrific $20.3M. That takes the international cume to $54.3M. The 20th movie in the Dragon Ball series, it focuses on Goku and Vegeta as they encounter Broly, a Saiyan warrior unlike any fighter they’ve faced before.
There were No. 1s in 12 markets with Mexico leading at $6.5M to come in 41% ahead of Ralph Breaks The Internet. Peru ($2.4M) and Argentina ($1.56M) gave Fox its biggest opening weekend ever, followed by Chile ($1.7M) with the industry’s 3rd biggest animation opening of all time. In Colombia it’s Fox’s 4th biggest opening weekend ever at $1.5M and in Ecuador, the Toei anime fantasy is Fox’s top launch ever, and the 3rd best superhero bow, behind Avengers: Infinity War and Thor: Ragnarok.
The film opens in in Australia, Holland, and New Zealand on Jan 24.
