‘F9’ In Gear For $160M+ Early Overseas Launch – International Box Office Preview

Rebecca Davis editorDisney’s “Cruella” strut into China on Sunday with a $1.78 million opening day, coming in sixth in a slow weekend behind reigning box office champ “F9,” according to data from Maoyan.Day one China figures for “Cruella” were less than a fourth of the $7.7 million the film grossed on its May 28 opening day in North America, where it premiered in theaters and on Disney Plus via a $30 fee.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter“F9,” the latest installment in Universal’s high octane franchise, has crossed a major box office milestone internationally.The film, starring Vin Diesel, John Cena and Michelle Rodriguez, surpassed the $250 million mark overseas, including a huge $203 million in China.Of course, “F9” carries a massive production budget and will require outsized global ticket sales to turn a profit.

Haley Bosselman editorAfter going virtual last year with the online initiative LALIFF Connect 2020, the Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival returned as an in-person event on Wednesday. The premiere of “7th and Union” served as the opening night film at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.The Broken English production is the second feature film from director Anthony Nardolillo.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief“F9” downshifted dramatically from a furious start in Chinese cinemas a week ago to a more pedestrian $20.5 million second weekend. But that was still good enough to take first place ahead of two significant foreign releases.The “Fast & Furious” franchise title lost 84% of its pace on its second lap, compared with a blistering opening weekend of $137 million.

Refresh for latest…: It was a busy weekend at global turnstiles, with a particularly noisy start for Paramount’s A Quiet Place Part II. The John Krasinski-helmed sequel came out shouting with a $22M overseas debut in just 12 markets for a worldwide opening of $70.4M including the three-day $48.4M North American haul.

Disney’s Cruella has received a June 6 release date in China, which will see it start on a non-traditional Sunday next week. This is the latest Hollywood title to be confirmed by the Middle Kingdom with a shortened lead-time versus the usual 30-day advance. The Emma Stone-starrer began domestic and international box office rollout this week and while it had earlier been approved for China, a date had yet to be set. The official Disney Weibo account posted an update late today local time.

One of two children born to his immigrant Chinese parents, Eric went on the show in the hopes of sharing his passion for regional Chinese cuisine with Australia. 

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief“F9” roared into the lead at the China box office, where the “Fast and Furious” franchise has repeatedly lapped faster than in North America.On its first weekend in China the film grossed $137 million, according to data from consultancy Artisan Gateway.That gave it an 83% share of the China weekend box office, a market share figure that was notably stable from its Friday lights out.

That makes the “Fast & Furious” franchise the sixth in box office history to reach $6 billion in lifetime grosses, largely off of a launch in China that came with the most expansive marketing campaign for a “F&F” film ever in the country that yielded the second-highest Chinese opening ever for Universal. Only “The Fate of the Furious” in 2017 earned a higher opening with $184.9 million.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter“F9” has the international box office sizzling.The latest installment in Universal’s testosterone-fueled franchise kicked off with a massive $162.4 million in eight markets, including China, Korea and Hong Kong.

Ellise Shafer administrator“F9,” the ninth installment in Universal’s “Fast and Furious” franchise, is speeding toward a pandemic-era box office record.The film has generated $127 million at the international box office to date, and it’s expected to gross more than $160 million through Sunday.

As a result, “F9” is the first Hollywood blockbuster since “Avengers: Endgame” to post a $100 million-plus opening in China, and has earned the largest global opening for a Hollywood film since the start of the pandemic. The film has also opened in Korea ($7.7 million), Russia ($6.4 million), Hong Kong ($2.2 million), and the Middle East ($5.5 million), scoring the strongest pandemic-era opening weekends in all those markets.

Christopher Vourlias As the calendar turned to March this year, and the cold, dark months of a pandemic winter gave way to hopeful signs of spring, Evgenia Markova, head of the Russian film promotion body Roskino, mooted the prospect of hosting a physical version of the Key Buyers Event, a showcase of new Russian content now in its third year. “I was hoping that it would be possible,” she tells Variety.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter“F9” could send the box office into overdrive when it debuts overseas this weekend.The latest entry in Universal’s high-octane franchise, which opens in Korea, Hong Kong, the Middle East, Russia and China in the coming days, is expected to bring in at least $150 million to $180 million at the international box office.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefZhang Yimou’s period espionage thriller “Cliff Walkers” ran out a comfortable winner at the mainland Chinese box office, ahead of other holdovers and new release titles including Jason Statham-starring “Wrath of Man.”“Cliff Walkers” dropped only 32% between its second and third weekends, taking $16.6 million between Friday and Sunday, according to data from consultancy Artisan Gateway.

Sheffield Doc/Fest, the key UK documentary event, has revealed its full line-up for this year, including an international competition comprised of 11 features.

Refresh for latest…: A significant week is ahead at the international box office as Universal’s F9 starts its engines in a handful of major markets including China, Russia and Korea — and as the UK and France will reopen cinemas after a roughly seven-month shutdown. In the meantime, Fast & Furious franchise alum Jason Statham’s Wrath Of Man was the main overseas Hollywood title this session, lifting its offshore cume to $41.4M for $56M global.

Rebecca Davis editorZhang Yimou’s spy thriller “Cliff Walkers” strode into first place this weekend at the China box office with a $24.3 million score, bringing its cumulative total up to $118 million, according to data from consultancy Artisan Gateway.It more than tripled the gross of “My Love,” the melodramatic rom-com that had outpaced it last week for first place, in what was the opening weekend for both films.

Refresh for latest…: Yet another international box office frame was led by Chinese movies in their home market as local May Day holdovers continued play coming off a record holiday session. While a handful of studio titles are doing business in other pockets of the world, we are in something of a holding pattern until majors like the UK and France begin opening in the coming weeks, and as Universal’s F9 is expected to rev up overseas turnstiles for Hollywood starting on May 19.

Tonight’s Saturday Night Live will be livestreamed internationally via YouTube in more than 100 countries,  including Australia, Brazil, Canada, India, Mexico, New Zealand, Russia, South Africa, and the United Kingdom.