It’s not a joke about the French! The foreign (to America) box office has become equal to or greater in importance to the overall bottom line of the movie business. So, take a gander.
L.A. Confidential finally debuted in France and disappointed, managing no better than third place. The reason? The distributor waited too long to take full advantage of the great Cannes buzz. If you read The Hot Button regularly, you’ll know that it’s just another case of a foreign nation following in the footsteps of America. In poli-sci terms, it’s Mutual Assured Destruction of a very good film.
While we’re talking American bombs, Speed 2: Cruise Control looks like a $100 million-plus overseas hit, already grabbing $99.1 million. It’s especially popular in Thailand where actors with big square heads and no emotional range apparently draw a crowd.
It’s no surprise that Air Force One is taking off in Europe. But it might surprise you to know that, like The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Disney’s 1996 animated disappointment at the domestic box office, 1997’s soft-grossing Hercules is now expected to generate more than $200 million throughout the rest of the world. Something to keep in mind if Fox’s European-tinged Anastasia doesn’t light up the U.S. box office like a Christmas tree.
Finally, some numbers to gag on. Men in Black just passed $250 million overseas, pushing its worldwide figure to almost $500 million. The film is currently setting box office records in Croatia, Bulgaria and the Czech Republic where men in black are more dangerous than Tommy Lee and Will could ever be.
Any Europeans out there? Email me!
Posts Tagged ‘Air Force One’
Overseas Box Office
Thursday, October 16th, 1997Tags: Air Force One, LA Confidential, Men in Black, Speed 2: Cruise Control, The Hot Button
Posted in Hot Button, Old MCN Blogs | Comments Off on Overseas Box Office
In & Out, LA Confidential, Air Force One
Friday, October 10th, 1997It looks like an ugly weekend at the box office. Four new films hit theaters nationwide, but they all look like short-term players. Brad Pitt’s Seven Years In Tibet should lead the charge grossing more than $10 million. If Tibet passes the $13 million mark, it will be a shock. If it somehow dips below $8 million, “I told you so!” will ring out in hallways all over town.
Kiss The Girls and Soul Food should be the strongest holdovers on the charts. The girls can kiss off a modest 25 percent for about $10 million and second place and Soul Food should lose about 15 percent off the top for about $7.1 million and fourth spot. Sneaking somewhere in between should be Disney’s kid comedy Rocket Man, the only family film to be released in what seems like eons.
In & Out should equivocate its way to fifth with a 20 percent drop to $6.1 million, becoming the first film released since Air Force One (July 25) to pass the $50 million mark domestically. Gang Related should ride to $5 million and sixth place on Tupac’s name and a decent ad campaign, though reports are that the movie is a bomb (non-ebonic). The Peacemaker should continue its precipitous drop, with a 40 percent dip to about $4.9 million for seventh place, and looks like it will max out with less than $40 million domestic. Do you know anyone who’s still anxious to see it? Me neither.
In its second week of wide release, L.A. Confidential’s expected 20 percent fall-off to $3.77 million and the eighth spot has prompted rumors that Warner Bros. is already planning a major re-release in early January.
Keenen shows us why he’s now hosting a talk show! Most Wanted takes a dive with about $3 million for ninth place on its way to the 99 cent racks at the video store. And The Edge is on the edge of the Top 10, dropping an unbearable 45 percent to $2.8 million and pushing The Full Monty off the charts. Monty will probably return next week, when The Edge, Most Wanted and Gang Related join U-Turn, The Game, Wishmaster and The Matchmaker as former Top 10 hits.
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Tags: Air Force One, In & Out, LA Confidential
Posted in Hot Button, Old MCN Blogs | Comments Off on In & Out, LA Confidential, Air Force One
