Refresh for the latest…: Slightly above the estimates we reported on Saturday, Universal/Illumination’s Minions: The Rise of Gru has boogieed to $87.2 million over the weekend at the international box office. That brings the offshore cume to $93.7 million for a $202.2 million worldwide cume to date.
Rise of Gru, the latest entry in the world’s biggest animated franchise, previously opened in Australia last weekend, and that frame has added a further 60 markets. In fresh hubs, the debut was $81.5 million.
Comparing the likes at today’s exchange rates, new openers are 23% below Minions and 13% below Despicable Me 3. Including Australia, week 2 results are tracking 13% below Minions and just 3% below DM3. France, Japan, Korea and Italy are yet to release the little guys.
Gru and crew set some new milestones internationally with four markets posting the biggest opening weekend of all time (Argentina, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Venezuela); and 52 markets determining Pandemic’s best animated opening (see more details in the breakdowns as they update below for all films).
Universal went all out in a global marketing campaign that included pop-up stores, music festival appearances and mall takeovers, as well as a crafty “Minions In Suits” challenge on TikTok that went viral in the frame.
The top 5 openers this weekend were the UK ($12.9M), Mexico ($12.4M), Germany ($4.8M), Spain ($3.6M) and Indonesia ($3.4M).
Universal Pictures President of International Distribution Veronica Quan Vandenberg says, “We couldn’t be happier for Chris Meledandri, the filmmakers, cast and crew, and our partners at Illumination. This result is a testament to the enduring love for this franchise, the exceptional film they delivered and the tremendous collaboration between Illumination, our Universal teams around the world and our exhibition partners.”
Overall, the market is stable and it’s refreshing to see so many expensive pictures in different genres comfortably coexisting.
Case in point: Paramount/Skydance’s hypersonic Top Gun: Maverick crossed the $1.1 billion global mark, earning another $37 million in 65 markets — another outstanding 16% drop from last weekend internationally. The overseas total through Sunday is $544.5 million.
And Universal’s Jurassic World Dominion has crossed the $800 million mark worldwide – only the 4th Hollywood title to do so since the start of the pandemic. With $824.5 million, it is the No. 3 film of 2022 worldwide. The offshore cume was $492.7 million after adding $26.8 million in 72 markets this frame.
Warner Bros’ Elvis fell just 28% in its second frame for a $15.7 million weekend in 57 international markets. The offshore tally to date is $46.2M with a global $113.5M through Sunday.
Movie breakdowns above and more are updated below.
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