Hollywood goes international
SPECIAL EFFECTS, animated and franchise-ready flicks garner huge sales outside North America
Movie studio executives were happy to celebrate last year’s North American box office record of $10.8 billion. But they were even happier when international markets inched past 2011’s best.
In 2012, there were an unprecedented 18 movies that earned 70 per cent of their totals from overseas markets.
What does that mean for movie goers in North America? Expect more English-language films that won’t get lost in international translation.
Count on more specialeffects extravaganzas, animated motion pictures and a continuing series of films with franchise-ready appeal and multinational co-stars.
“We were going to see those kinds of movies anyway,” said Hollywood.com senior box office analyst Paul Dergarabedian. “But the increase in international sales will definitely provide fuel to seeing even more of them going forward.”
Take, for instance, G.I. Joe: Retaliation, which opens in March. The first G.I. Joe actioneer in 2009 with Channing Tatum received only 50 per cent of its revenue from overseas sales, but the sequel addition of international friendly stars Dwayne Johnson and Bruce Willis should up the ante considerably.
Sam Raimi’s fantastical prequel, Oz the Great and Powerful, also in theatres by March, will have overseas appeal based on Raimi’s past as the Spider-Man story spinner. More March madness arrives with Bryan Singer’s fable-as-an-action-flick, Jack the Giant Slayer.
In May, franchise flicks include J.J. Abrams’ second reboot, Star Trek Into Darkness plus The Hangover Part III and Iron Man 3. The Fast and the Furious 6 keeps powering along because of its international appeal.
Monsters, Inc. sequel Monsters University, which will hit theatres in June, expects to add lots of overseas business. In 2001, Monsters, Inc. scored $600 million at the box office, not quite half from foreign sales.
Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel, out in June, has lots going for it internationally, too. The Superman superhero is celebrated overseas and so is Snyder after his efforts with 300 and Watchmen.
Hugh Jackman’s The Wolverine is scheduled for a highprofile July release and that’s in part because of Jackman’s blossoming as an internation- al movie star. Ditto Johnny Depp and The Lone Ranger. Armie Hammer plays the iconic American hero while Depp plays Tonto. It equals a box office comfort zone that includes North American and overseas appeal.
The Hunger Games: Catch-
In 2012, there were an unprecedented
18 movies that earned 70 per cent of their totals from overseas markets.
ing Fire, out in November, is getting there. In 2012, The Hunger Games proved to be an exception to the box office rule. Its worldwide total of $686.5 million was made up of $408 million domestically. But Catching Fire is expected to increase its international percentage as Hunger Games star Jennifer Lawrence increases her international profile with the recent best actress Oscar nomination for Silver Linings Playbook.
Certainly, international numbers can defuse apparent bombs. In 2012, the sci-fi epic John Carter and the action flick Battleship famously flopped in North America, but did well internationally. John Carter picked up 74 per cent of its $282 million overseas while Battleship ended up earning a respectable $303 million globally thanks to 78 per cent from overseas receipts.
The Avengers followed trends last year. The all-star superhero flick managed the third-highest box office accumulation ever with more than 58 per cent of the total from foreign markets.
Skyfall, the 23rd Bond film, scooped up over a billion dollars: 71 per cent of the total came from international markets. Ice Age: Continental Drift picked up more than 80 per cent of its $875 million from overseas sales.
Peter Jackson’s The Hob- bit: An Unexpected Journey is heading toward the billiondollar mark, with overseas accounting for 70 per cent. That means the second Hobbit film, The Desolation of Smaug, out in December, should continue or increase the international market share.
The success of The Hobbit also suggests more directors will be assessing the 48-frames-per-second projection — double the usual — favoured by Jackson in his Hobbit prequels “because it’s more detailed.”
Avatar’s James Cameron, who reinvented 3D, said he believes the 48-frames-persecond format is the future of film and hinted he might try it on his much anticipated sequels. We’ll see.
“I think (Peter) Jackson and (James) Cameron are hoping that audiences will catch up,” Dergarabedian said.
“But the jury is still out.”