10 January 2014 Last Updated on 10 January 2014
So maybe The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug is not breaking any records but with $58 million this past weekend and a total of $527 million internationally, I doubt anyone is crying at Warner Bros. Worldwide Bilbo’s adventure is at $758.9 million with Japan and China still left to open. The question now is whether The Desolation of Smaug can match An Unexpected Journey‘s $1 billion. Since in North America Smaug will probably end up as much as $40 million short of Journey, that’s $40 million it has to recoup overseas. I believe it will all come down to how well the movie will perform in China. As of right now I’ll go with a final total of $950-960 million worldwide for the 3d adaptation.
Frozen comes in second with $52 million. Now I can’t call this a surprise hit because it is Disney after all and when was the last time one of their animations made less than $300 million worldwide? Winnie the Pooh says Box Office Mojo, less than three years ago. Shut up I say, that doesn’t count! Point is the business of animated movies has always been good to the house of mouse. Back to Frozen, business has not been this good for Walt Disney Animation Studios since, well, The Lion King. Yes, Pixar have had their share of gigantic hits, stuff like Toy Story 3 (over $1 billion worldwide) or Finding Nemo (over $900 million worldwide), but that’s Pixar, a totally different beast that so happens to also be owned by Disney. Between Tangled ($591.8 million ww), Wreck-It Ralph ($471.2 million ww) and now Frozen, we might be in for a new golden age for Walt Disney Animation Studios. Rant over, back to numbers. Frozen has so far taken $342.1 million internationally (Tangled finished with $391 million) and including the film’s domestic run it’s up to $642.4 worldwide (so already more than Tangled). With at least 50 more million to go domestically and $150 million overseas, Frozen is a lock for over $800 million worldwide and as much as $900 million by the end of its run. When it comes to original (non-sequel) animations only The Lion King and Finding Nemo made more (both with at least one theatrical re-issue).
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty continued to expand with $31.5 million from 56 markets. That’s $68.8 million internationally and $115.9 million after two weeks in release for the Ben Stiller movie.
47 Ronin had its best weekend yet after a strong opening in Russia (proving once again that everything with swords can sell well over there). It did $20.5 million over the weekend for a total of $51.3 million internationally. The movie cost over $175 million to produce and so far made $85.2 million worldwide. With that in mind 47 Ronin could very well end up as the biggest box office flop of the year, really giving R.I.P.D. and The Lone Ranger a run for their money (or lack of).
Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones rounds out the top 5 at $16.1 million. $36.7 million is the current worldwide tally (after a weekend) for the found footage spin-off.
Source:
http://www.mockingjayhungergames.com/international-box-office-the-hobbit-passes-750-million-worldwide/