Worldwide box office January 19-21
| Rank | Film (distributor) | 3-day (world) | Cume (world) | 3-day (int’l) | Cume (int’l) | Territories |
| 1. | The Beekeeper (MGM) | $22.7m | $75.3m | $14.2m | $44.2m | 60 |
| 2. | Mean Girls (Paramount) | $19.2m | $66.2m | $7.5m | $16.2m | 19 |
| 3. | Wonka (Warner Bros) | $17m | $531.8m | $10.6m | $344.6m | 78 |
| 4. | Anyone But You (Sony) | $16m | $100.2m | $10.6m | $36m | 42 |
| 5. | Johnny Keep Walking! (various) | $15m | $133.3m | $14.9m | $133.3m | 3 |
| 6. | Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom (Warner Bros) | $13.2m | $396.2m | $9.5m | $282m | 79 |
| 7. | Migration (Universal) | $11.9m | $191.6m | $6.6m | $97m | 77 |
| 8. | Rob N Roll (various) |
$11.8m | $11.9m | $11.8m | $11.9m | 1 |
| 9. | Poor Things (Disney) | $7.1m | $33.7m | $5.1m | $13.3m | 20 |
| 10. | Wish (Disney) | $6.3m | $233.2m | $6.1m | $169.8m | 52 |
Credit: Comscore. All figures are estimates.
‘The Beekeeper’ tops worldwide chart with $23m session
Miramax’s Jason Statham action thriller The Beekeeper has risen to the top of the worldwide box office with estimated weekend takings of $22.7m – breaking down as $14.2m for 59 international markets and $8.5m in North America.
While topping the worldwide chart is certainly a notable achievement for David Ayer’s film, only in exceptional circumstances would a $22.7m weekend total be enough to achieve this feat.
In 2023, the session that yielded the lowest number for a chart-topper occurred in mid-February, when Avatar: The Way Of Water drifted back to the summit in its ninth week of release, grossing $25.8m for the weekend.
In other words, The Beekeeper has topped the latest worldwide chart thanks to an extraordinary lack of competition. In North America, top new title I.S.S. – a sci-fi thriller set on the International Space Station, distributed by Bleecker Street – landed in seventh place in the domestic box office chart with a weak estimated $3.0m.
In international markets, Paramount’s Mean Girls might be offering stronger competition, but a staggered release means that so far it’s only reached 18 territories (see below).
To give The Beekeeper its due, the film held well in many key markets, with declines in the 25-33% range across UK/Ireland, Australia/New Zealand, Middle East and Germany/Austria. China, where sharp drops are usually seen, fell 47%.
Total after two weekends of play is a handy $75.3m – $31.1m in North America, and $44.2m for international. Top international markets for The Beekeeper are China ($9.5m), Middle East ($5.6m) and Germany/Austria ($5.4m).
The film opened in seven new territories at the weekend, none of them major: Portugal, Romania, Colombia, Ecuador, Hong Kong, India and Malaysia.
Upcoming key markets for The Beekeeper include Scandinavia (February), South Korea (March) and Japan (Q4).
Sony romcom ‘Anyone But You’ delivers another strong hold
Sony’s Anyone But You passed $100m at the weekend – becoming the first R-rated romantic comedy to do so since 2016’s Bridget Jones’s Baby.
In North America, the Will Gluck-directed film fell a slim 24%, delivering an estimated $5.4m for the fifth weekend of play, and taking the total there to $64.2m.
For international, the sustain in holdover markets was even better, down just 14%. The film also opened in 18 new markets, bringing the international footprint to 41 territories. International tally was an estimated $10.6m for the weekend, taking the overseas total to $36.0m. Global total is $100.2m.
Among new markets, Germany led with an estimated $2.4m, ahead of Mexico ($1.3m). For holdovers, Australia (showcased to great advantage as the film’s wedding-storyline location) leads with a $10.8m cumulative total, ahead of UK/Ireland with $9.0m.
Upcoming key markets for Anyone But You are France, Brazil and Italy (all released this coming week).
Sony’s film is chasing the $168.8m achieved by Universal romantic comedy Ticket To Paradise in 2022 – the film that at the time was held up as an example of theatrical life in the unfashionable genre, albeit with the advantage of two major romcom stars (Julia Roberts and George Clooney). Anyone But You stars Glen Powell and Sydney Sweeney.
Awards contender ‘Poor Things’ enters global top 10
Eight weeks into its North American release, Searchlight Pictures’ Poor Things has cracked Comscore’s worldwide box office top 10 chart for the first time. The film expanded to 1,400 sites in North America, grossing an estimated $2.0m. For international via Disney, Yorgos Lanthimos’s film has now reached 19 markets, and delivered an estimated $5.1m for the weekend.
Totals to date for Poor Things are $20.4m in North America and $13.3m for international – combining to deliver $33.7m worldwide.
The film declined 30% in international holdover markets, where UK/Ireland leads with $4.7m, ahead of Lanthimos’s home territory Greece ($2.3m) and Australia ($1.7m).
Among new markets for the film, France opened with an estimated $1.1m, topping the chart. Germany opened with an estimated $800,000.
This coming weekend sees a significant international expansion, with Poor Things landing in Italy, Spain, Japan, Mexico, Czech Republic, Hungary, Israel, Portugal, Sweden, Central America, Venezuela, Paraguay, Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, Chile and Colombia.
Poor Things is chasing the $95.9m total achieved by Lanthimos’s The Favourite in 2018: $34.4m in North America and $61.6m for international.
Also for Disney, animation Wish added an estimated $6.3m at the weekend, and has now reached $233.2m. The film is chasing the $256.8m lifetime total of 2021 Disney animation Encanto.
‘Mean Girls’ boosted by strong UK opening
Despite ceding the global top spot to The Beekeeper, Paramount’s Mean Girls enjoyed a solid second weekend of play, topping the North America box office with an estimated $11.7m (albeit down a hefty 59% from the opening session).
For international, where the film added two new markets, making 18 in total, the weekend estimate is $7.5m.
A big chunk of the international number came from UK/Ireland, where a five-day opening delivered an estimated $4.1m – topping the chart in the territory.
Among holdover markets, Australia leads with $4.3m so far, ahead of Mexico ($2.8m) and Brazil ($1.2m).
Totals for the film after two weekends are $50.0m in North America, $16.2m for international, and $66.2m worldwide.
This coming week, Mean Girls lands in Germany, Austria and Peru, followed a week later by Argentina, Chile and Colombia.
Mean Girls is chasing the $130.1m global total achieved by the original 2004 film: $86.1m in North America, and $44.1m for international markets.
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