Global Box Office: Ranbir Kapoor’s ‘Animal’ Is Worldwide Top Film, Ahead of ‘Napoleon,’ ‘Hunger Games’

Warner Bros/DC’s Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom began offshore rollout on Wednesday, and with numbers through Friday included has grossed $40.9M in 73 international box office markets. This portends a full overseas opening in the $70M range. With domestic’s three- and four-day, the global start will top $100M.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director As 2023 draws to a close, Christopher Nolan is feeling pretty good about the state of the movie business. That shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise considering “Oppenheimer” pulled in a remarkable $954 million at the box office this year, beating every superhero movie and several major Hollywood tentpoles, like “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.” Audiences turning out in droves for a three-hour, R-rated and incredibly dense biographical drama as if it were a major action movie blockbuster has Nolan quite optimistic about the future. “I’ve just made a three-hour film about Robert Oppenheimer which is R-rated and half in black-and-white – and it made a billion dollars.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief After making a partial post-pandemic recovery, global cinema box office is expected to retreat again in 2024, as the twin writers’ and actors’ strikes of 2023 are forecast to have a negative impact on theatrical revenues. Box office research firm Gower Street Analytics, in a preliminary draft of its annual forecast, says that worldwide cinema box office should weigh in at $33.4 billion for 2023.

Gower Street Analytics has come up with an early estimate for 2024 global box office, projecting a roughly 5% downturn versus 2023 to $31.5B (Gower currently is pegging 2023 at $33.4B). This marks the first post-pandemic decrease in the London-based firm’s annual forecast. Should the figure hold, it would put the year -20% against the average of the last three pre-pandemic years (2017-2019). 

Timothée Chalamet‘s Wonka has topped the global box office.The musical prequel directed by Paul King pulled in a whopping $92.6million (£73.1million) over the weekend, topping the box office in 60 of its 77 international markets, according to Screen Daily. Its worldwide total currently stands at $150million (£118.4million).In the US, it made its debut pulling in $39million (£30.8million) over the weekend to top the box office and enjoyed strong openings in France at $5.1million (£4million) and Australia $4million (£3.2million).The UK/Ireland leads the international pack with $23.2million (£18.3million) after 10 days, ahead of Mexico with $11.2million (£8.3million).

Refresh for latest…: After opening early in 37 international box office markets last weekend, Warner Bros/Village Roadshow/Heyday Films’ Wonka expanded its release this session to the rest of the world (save Korea which goes in late January). The results are sweet.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter Timothée Chalamet’s fantasy musical “Wonka” hit a sweet box office milestone, surpassing $150 million globally. The song-and-dance movie about the early days of the eccentric chocolatier opened to No. 1 in North America with $39 million.

according to IMDB’s Box Office Mojo.The musical fantasy, which tells the story of the fictional proprietor in the 1964 Roald Dahl novel “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” stars Timothée Chalamet in the titular role. The Post said the actor exudes “impish charm and oddball quirks” and the film “delivers not so much a world of pure imagination as a land of constant cuteness.”The flick reportedly cost $125 million to make, so will have to earn double its budget, $250 million, to be deemed a box office success, according to Screen Rant.

according to IMDB’s Box Office Mojo.The Japanese animated fantasy, which The Washington Post called a “magical, otherworldly tale,” is expected to enjoy a $10.7 to 12 million opening weekend, Deadline reported.It is the only entirely foreign film to lead the weekend box office this year, the first since August 2022’s “Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero.”In second place was “Godzilla Minus One,” with a $2.25 million take. The film, which is the 37th in the Godzilla franchise, now holds the title ofBiggest Single-Day Domestic Box Office For A Foreign Live-Action Film, according to Screen Rant.Queen Bey was dethroned this week as Beyoncé’s film, which was in first place last week, fell down to third.Her documentary concert movie “Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé” took injust $1.6 million, a drop of 75% since last Friday.“Trolls Band Together,” which debuted on Nov.

Refresh for latest…: New global entry Queen Bey’s concert movie/documentary Renaissance: A Film By Beyoncé put a ring on a $27.4M global debut this weekend. Included in that is $6.4M from 2,621 overseas cinemas.

according to IMDB’s Box Office Mojo.The documentary concert film written, directed and produced by Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, is expected to enjoy as much as a $24-million-dollar opening, according to Deadline.Variety said the movie, which chronicles her 2023 tour, “highlights the pursuit of perfection with dazzling results.”Japanese adventure “Godzilla Minus One,” which also debuted Friday, landed in second, with earnings of $4.72 million. The Hollywood Reporter called the flick, the 37th in the Godzilla franchise “one of the best Godzilla films ever.“The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes,” which was in the No.

Animal, with Thursday previews of just over $1.25 million, looks set for the biggest North American Bollywood opening day since Brahmastra Part 1: Shiva last year. Both star Ranbir Kapoor.

It’s interesting to think of how cinema fans are often forced to pick sides. You’re either pro-cinema and on the side of folks like Christopher Nolan, or you’re maybe someone who likes major franchises and *gasp* comic book movies, so you’re on the side of Zack Snyder.

Refresh for more….AMC‘s second concert movie theatrical release, Renaissance: A Film by Beyonce, hoping to liven up what is typically a dull frame at the box office –the post Thanksgiving/early December downer corridor– with what’s look like a $30M, maybe $40M global opening.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter Checkmate, she couldn’t lose. Taylor Swift‘s “The Eras Tour” has crossed a notable box office milestone. The concert film has grossed more than $250 million globally, including $178.2 million domestically and $71.8 million internationally.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter Ridley Scott’s historical epic “Napoleon” may not have conquered the top spot in North America, but it emerged victorious at the worldwide box office. The film, starring Joaquin Phoenix as the infamous French ruler, debuted to $78.8 million, including $46.3 million internationally — enough to stave off the competition on global charts.

“The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” stayed at No. 1 at the box office on Black Friday, retaining the top spot in its second week on the screens.

Ridley Scott’s Napoleon through Thursday has grossed an estimated $21M worldwide. The Apple Original Films and Sony Pictures action epic is now eyeing a $70M-$73M five-day global opening, including $40M from the international box office. Should those numbers hold, this will be well ahead of pre-weekend projections.

Brent Lang Executive Editor There’s a good old fashioned box office battle brewing. Disney’s “Wish,” an animated adventure that had been expected to dominate the Thanksgiving holiday is facing off against Lionsgate’s “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” for the top spot over the five-day stretch. And the dystopian prequel, which is currently in its second week of release, is showing impressive resilience against the family flick.

Naman Ramachandran Bollywood star Ranbir Kapoor is gearing for the global release of action-crime-drama “Animal.” The film is directed by Sandeep Reddy Vanga, known for his portraits of tough yet vulnerable men in Telugu-language hit “Arjun Reddy” (2017) and its Hindi-language remake “Kabir Singh” (2019). “Animal” revolves around the relationship of Kapoor’s character with his father, played by Anil Kapoor (“Slumdog Millionaire”) and the cast also includes Rashmika Mandanna (“Varisu”) and Bobby Deol (“Aashram”).