Latest in International Box Office

Japanese box office phenomenon Demon Slayer – Kimetsu No Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Train has been set for a North American theatrical release on April 23. Aniplex of America and Funimation are distributing the anime adaptation which in December became the highest-grossing film in Japanese history, dethroning Spirited Aw…

Chloe Zhao recently became the first Asian woman to win a Golden Globe for Best Director and now has a shot to repeat that at the Oscars with her awards-season darling Nomadland garnering six nominations today for Best Picture, Director, Editing, Adapted Screenplay, Cinematography and Actress. Still, despite the…

UPDATE, writethru: As we first reported yesterday, James Cameron's Avatar is again king of the all-time worldwide box office, having snapped the title back from Avengers: Endgame thanks to a very robust China reissue this session. The full three-day frame in the Middle Kingdom is estimated at $21.1M, also giving the…

As James Cameron's Avatar once again became the highest-grossing film of all time worldwide today, a long-held Hollywood tradition of the previous record-holder paying homage continued. Marvel Studios, whose Avengers: Endgame was just eclipsed by Avatar, tweeted congratulations to Cameron, as well as producer Jon…

UPDATE, with more detail after 1:47AM post: Confirming what we reported in the wee hours of Saturday morning (see below), Disney has announced that James Cameron's Avatar has once again become the highest-grossing film of all time at the global box office, overtaking Disney/Marvel's Avengers: Endgame. This is thanks…

UPDATE with amended pre-sale figures, writethru after Wednesday post: Long-rumored for a China re-release, James Cameron's Avatar suddenly popped onto the calendar this week. The erstwhile highest-grossing film of all time worldwide will hit Middle Kingdom cinemas on Friday, March 12. In so doing, it has a chance to…

Scoring another record with a local title in Japan, Imax has had its best opening day ever for a film there with Shin Evangelion. Overall, the movie, which is the fourth and final installment in the Rebuild of Evangelion series, grossed nearly 828 million yen ($7.6 million). Of that, the Imax portion was $740,000. The…

UPDATE, writethru: Disney's Raya And The Last Dragon didn't exactly come roaring out of the gate at the international box office with $17.6M from 32 markets. The global bow, including domestic's launch, was $26.2M. Double-digit million-dollar debuts for Hollywood movies in the pandemic era are still a rare positive…

German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday extended Germany's current lockdown to March 28, while also unveiling plans to relax certain Covid restrictions. Under a five-step process, cinemas may be able to reopen beginning March 22 at the earliest (this would be part of Stage 4). All will depend on the infection…

Refresh for latest…: Warner Bros' hybrid live-action/animated feature Tom & Jerry began offshore rollout in mid-February, and this session became the first studio title to hit China in the wake of the Lunar New Year, as well as adding a host of other new markets. The Hanna-Barbera rascals scampered off with a further $…

Chinese New Year movies continued to drive the global and international box office this weekend, after their astonishing Covid-era debuts last frame. Leaders last session, Detective Chinatown 3 and Hi Mom, both crossed the RMB 4B mark locally, with each at an estimated RMB 4.02B ($621M) cume through Sunday. This is…

In the span of six days, the Chinese box office roared to a $1.2B Lunar New Year record, with Wanda Pictures' Detective Chinatown 3 setting global benchmarks for the biggest opening day and weekend in a single market. This happened even as some Covid restrictions remain in place in the Middle Kingdom. While the…