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Around the World Roundup: ‘Slumdog’ Surges

Author: Conor Bresnan |

Slumdog Millionaire climbed to the top of the foreign box office over the weekend, grossing $16 million from 34 markets (three smaller markets remain unreported) for a $96.5 million total. The Best Picture winner rose 85 percent from the previous weekend, and its biggest single country increase was in Italy (up 556 percent). In the United Kingdom, it regained the lead with a seven percent boost, and it saw sizable bumps in Australia (53 percent to second place), France (61 percent) and Spain (73 percent), where it was No. 1 ahead of The Pink Panther 2's opening. In India, where Slumdog hasn't performed as well as recent local titles Delhi 6 or Chandni Chowk to China, it grew by 470 percent, pushing its total there to $6.3 million.

Slumdog was victorious in its debuts as well. It led in Hong Kong with $1 million (which was the second biggest opening of the year) and in Croatia with $170,419 from 10 screens (the biggest opening in the last four months), and it was second in Poland with $715,677. Still on the horizon for Slumdog are Sweden (March 6), Germany and South Korea (March 19), Japan (April 18), and the picture will likely receive a China release at some point.

After a three-week reign, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button fell to second place. Lacking the Oscar windfall of Slumdog, the fantastical drama slowed 33 percent to $14 million from 61 markets. With $177 million thus far, though, it's on track to pass $200 million, which would make it the 15th picture from 2008 to reach that milestone.

In third place, Gran Torino finally engaged the international market at full throttle, banking $9.7 million from 11 markets over the weekend for an $18.2 million total. Clint Eastwood's action drama, which is 2009's top grosser domestically, has already proven itself in Australia ($7.8 million) and is poised to perform well elsewhere. In France, its $5.5 million opening from 422 screens was Eastwood's biggest. The picture also led Greece with $428,145 and was second to Slumdog in the U.K. with $2.3 million.

Bolt slowed 34 percent to $7.6 million from 39 markets for a $161.1 million running tally. In Belgium, the animated comedy took advantage of school holidays and nearly doubled the previous weekend's gross to gain the lead. Elsewhere, it fell 33 percent in France but dove 57 percent in the U.K. ($22.1 million total). There's only one territory that Bolt hasn't marked yet: Japan, where it opens in August.

Valkyrie rounded out the Top Five, grossing $7.1 million from 53 markets for a $93.7 million total. The thriller's most notable start was in China, where it led with $3.7 million. Valkyrie will finish its foreign campaign this month with stops in Vietnam and Japan.

Outside the Top Five, The Reader improved to $6.1 million from 15 markets for a $20.4 million total. The drama grossed $3.4 million from 359 screens in Germany, the movie's setting. However, that was significantly less than The Curious Case of Benjamin Button's opening in January.

February Breaks Box Office Record

Author: Brandon Gray |

The final tally for February came in at nearly $770 million, marking the highest-grossing February ever. Business was up over ten percent from last year, which was the previous February best. Adjusting for ticket price inflation, though, February 2009 was effectively in a tie with February 2004 (fueled by The Passion of the Christ) and February 1997 (driven by two Star Wars special editions).

The bustling February comes in the wake of the first billion dollar January, which was the rare January to out-gross the preceding December. The first two months of 2009 tallied $1.78 billion, a 16 percent improvement over 2008 through the same point and the highest-grossing start to a year on record. The box office boom of January and February followed the weakest December of this decade, which grossed less than $800 million (and rated even worse in terms of attendance). The key difference has been a much stronger overall slate of pictures in January and February than December.

For the first time since 1998 (when Titanic was king), a non-February release had the highest gross, albeit this time it was one that came out at the end of January. Taken led February with $84.3 million, accounting for nearly 11 percent of the month's business. However, the box office was well spread out. He's Just Not That Into You came in second with $77.2 million for a ten percent market share, followed by Tyler Perry's Madea Goes to Jail ($60.9 million), Friday the 13th ($59.8 million) and Coraline ($59.5 million). February had its disappointments as well, including Confessions of a Shopaholic ($32.7 million) and The Pink Panther 2 ($31.9 million) (the first Pink Panther remake was the top grosser of February 2006).

February's Top Five pictures were successful by their respective genre standards, but Taken was the picture that went above and beyond. The kidnapping action thriller has handily out-gunned Man on Fire among past similar movies and trails only Ransom in its sub-genre. The movies that were sixth and seventh for the month were also genre busters and both were released before February. Slumdog Millionaire pulled in $46 million, and February, its fourth month in release, was its biggest yet. Paul Blart: Mall Cop collected $45.9 million after finishing second in January behind Gran Torino, which ranked tenth in February with $28.9 million. These four pictures also comprise the Top Four of calendar year 2009 thus far with the following takes: Gran Torino at $133 million, Paul Blart at $128.5 million, Taken at $108.5 million and Slumdog at $93.7 million (all as of Mar. 2).

Around the World Roundup: ‘Slumdog’ Surges

February Breaks Box Office Record

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