‘Superman’ hits $400m at global box office on second weekend; ‘Smurfs’ and ‘I Know What You Did Last Summer’ fall short

Worldwide box office: July 18-20

Credit: Comscore/Artisan Gateway. All figures are estimates.  

‘Superman’ tops global box office with $102m in second session

Warner Bros retains global box office bragging rights for the weekend, with an estimated $102.5m for DC Studios’ Superman in its second session. Total after two weekends of play is $406.8m – breaking down into $171.8m for 78 international markets and a powerful $235.0m in North America.

Decline was just 44% in North America on a like-for-like basis (ie omitting previews from the opening number) and 47% for international – relatively gentle drops for a superhero blockbuster.

Superman is only the fifth US studio title so far this year to gross more than $100m globally with its second weekend of release – following A Minecraft Movie, Lilo & Stitch, Jurassic World Rebirth and the latest Mission: Impossible instalment.

Among international markets, UK/Ireland continues to lead the way for Superman, with $22.2m, ahead of Mexico ($16.6m). Brazil ($11.2m) and Australia ($11.0m) both move up ahead of China ($8.5m), which ranked third outside North America for the opening session.

Next come France ($8.2m), Spain and India (both $6.1m), South Korea ($5.7m), Japan ($4.8m), Italy ($4.3m) and Germany ($4.2m).

It’s relatively rare for Germany (with a population above 82 million) to lag behind not just UK/Ireland and France but also Spain and Italy on a US blockbuster. Germany also came below UK/Ireland, France and Spain with Man Of Steel in 2013 (but ahead of Italy), suggesting the market has a track record of modest indifference to the Superman character.

Globally, Superman has now exceeded the $391.1m box office total achieved by Bryan Singer’s Superman Returns in 2006, although this comparison is not adjusted for inflation.

The highest-grossing solo Superman film is Man Of Steel – with $670.1m lifetime according to available data. Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice eclipsed it with $874.4m.

‘Smurfs’ and ‘I Know What You Did Last Summer’ land mid-table

Landing in fifth and sixth place in the weekend global box office charts are Paramount’s Smurfs and Sony’s I Know What You Did Last Summer – the former with an estimated $33.6m and the latter with $24.6m. Both numbers are fairly underwhelming.

Smurfs, a Paramount reboot of the Peyo comic-book property, follows a trio of films from Sony (2011, 2013, 2017). International (an estimated $22.6m) stretched far ahead of North America ($11.0m) at the weekend for Smurfs. The international total is $25.0m including earlier release in Australia.

The animation/live-action musical film – which toplines Rihanna in the voice cast – scored best in France among international markets, with a five-day estimated $3.7m including previews. Australia, where release began on July 5, has reached $3.3m.

UK/Ireland comes next (an estimated $1.7m), just ahead of Brazil ($1.6m), and then Mexico, Germany and Poland (tied on $1.5m).

Sony’s first two Smurfs films set a high box office bar ($564m and $348m lifetime according to available data), with 2017 reboot Smurfs: The Lost Village falling behind with $197m. It remains to be seen whether Paramount’s Smurfs will match the lifetime box office of The Lost Village. Yet to release Smurfs are Italy, South Korea and Japan.

Sony’s I Know What You Did Last Summer grossed an estimated $13.0m in North America and $11.6m across 58 international markets in its debut frame. That compares with a $105.8m global debut for Warner Bros’ Final Destination: Bloodlines – similarly a 2025 revival of a vintage horror property, although Sony will not welcome that comparison. Final Destination: Bloodlines currently has a $285.2m total.

The original I Know What You Did Last Summer grossed $125.6m in 1997 according to available data (unadjusted for inflation), and 1998 sequel I Still Know What You Did Last Summer reached $40.0m in North America.

‘Demon Slayer’ sequel opens with $36.5m in Japan

Beating both Smurfs and I Know What You Did Last Summer in Comscore’s weekend box office chart is Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaba Infinity Castle, which lands in fourth place thanks to an estimated $36.5m debut weekend in its home market, Japan.

The much-anticipated anime is the first Demon Slayer film to be made from original content since 2020’s Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaba Mugen Train. (Subsequent Demon Slayer films have been compilations of TV episodes.)

Reporting of Japan box office tends to vary. According to one set of available data, Mugen Train opened in Japan with $31.8m, on its way to a $365m total (and $486m worldwide including a rerelease in May this year). The original release was in October 2020, during a relative lull in the Covid pandemic.

Released by Aniplex and Toho, Infinity Castle is directed by Haruo Sotozaki and based on the Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba manga by Koyoharu Gotouge. Sotozaki also directed the Mugen Train film, several Demon Slayer TV series and the compilation films (To The Swordsmith Village, To The Hashira Training).

Infinity Castle has set an opening record for Imax in Japan, with an estimated $3.0m from 59 Imax screens, and $3.5m including today’s Marine Day holiday (July 21).

Infinity Castle will be released in North America and international markets via Sony/Crunchyroll, hitting more Asian territories in August, and rest of the world including US, Europe and Latin America in September.

‘Jurassic World Rebirth’ nudges $650m total

Universal’s Jurassic World Rebirth added a robust estimated $63.7m globally in its third weekend of release, taking its total to a hefty $648.0m. The film ranks second at the worldwide box office for the weekend, behind Superman and ahead of F1 (aka F1: The Movie).

After hefty drops on the second weekend of play, the rate of decline is arrested for the third session – down 42% in North America and 44% for international (38% excluding China).

Despite falling fast in China, the territory remains the top international market in cumulative, with $71.8m so far, ahead of UK/Ireland ($33.7m), Mexico ($28.7m), Germany ($20.9m), France ($17.4m), Australia ($16.7m) and Spain ($14.9m).

‘Lychee Road’ tops China box office

Also in the weekend top 10 chart are two new Chinese titles: The Lychee Road and The Legend Of Hei 2, respectively grossing an estimated $23.7m and $14.1m for the weekend, and $31.7m and $14.2m cumulatively.

The Lychee Road is a historical drama directed and co-written by Da Peng (One And Only), who also stars.

Animation The Legend Of Hei 2 is Mtjj’s sequel to 2019’s The Legend Of Hei.

Also in the worldwide top 10 is Indian musical romantic drama Sayiaara, directed by Mohit Suri, and produced by Yash Raj Films. It’s loosely based on 2004 South Korean film A Moment To Remember, and stars Ahaan Pandy and Aneet Padda. Comscore reports the opening box office at $12.0m including India and 21 other markets.

•  Can Japan’s ‘Demon Slayer’ franchise repeat its record-breaking success?