Kong a Little More Kingly Overseas
December 21, 2005
King Kong was a bit of a disappointment domestically, it performed better on the international scene, earning $63.4 million from Friday to Sunday, which is almost as much as the film made in five days here.
Since Wednesday, the film has earned $82.87 million on 7,215 screens in 56 markets, finishing first in 53 of them.
Its best market was the U.K. where it made $10.63 million on 481 screens over the weekend and $12.31 million since Wednesday.
In France it made $7.3 million on 721 screens, and $6.38 million on 739 screens in Germany.
On the other hand, the film wasn't a big hit in Italy, taking in just $2.33 million on 467 screens, which was only good enough for third place.
Granted, there were three wide releases this week, including two Italian films.
It also missed finishing first in Japan with $2.6 million at 709 screens, finishing second to Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire's third weekend of release and suffered the same fate in the Czech Republic with $170,000 on 26 screens.
On the other hand, the film opened in Thailand with $1.6 million on 345 screens for an unbelievable 92% share in that market.
Overall the film has made $149 million worldwide, which is barely more than half of what Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith made in the same timeframe.
Granted, I don't think anyone was expecting the film to have a Sith-like run, but it does put $600 million worldwide in serious jeopardy.
The competition is really getting to Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
It fell 49% to $27.24 million on 9,223 screens in 57 markets for a total of $456.08 million internationally.
That puts it 16th on the all-time international charts, while its $709 million worldwide is 21st on the All-Time Worldwide Charts.
Big markets include $5 million from France, $2 million in Australia, $1.9 million and South Korea.
It also took in $1.8 million in the U.K. for a total of $75.00 million in the market.
Narnia also lost nearly half its box office, falling to $21.46 million on 3,811 screens in 13 markets for a total of $75.86 million so far.
But unlike Goblet of Fire, Narnia didn't have a significant loss of screens this weekend.
It added $8.50 million on 512 screens in the U.K. to its $30.49 million, two-week total.
Other major markets include a 37% decline in Germany to $3.88 million on 1,056 screens over the weekend and $11.47 million in total, while in Spain it dropped 44% to $2.69 million on 437 screens for a $10.65 million total.
Fourth and fifth places went to local films with the Chinese film Master Of The Crimson Armor a.k.a. The Promise, a.k.a. Mo Gik, bringing in $9.69 million on 718 screens in three markets.
The film was nominated for a Golden Globe recently, which should help its run here.
Typhoon opened in its native market of South Korea with $7.03 million on 540 screens over the weekend and $10.32 million since Thursday.
The film, which cost $14.5 million to make, was recently picked up by Dreamworks for distribution here making it the first South Korean film to go through a major distributor for its North American release.
Filed under: International Box Office, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, King Kong, Wu ji