Global Box Office Hits New Record in 2019 With $42 Billion

Locally-made action comedy “The Grand Grandmaster” emerged on top of the Hong Kong box office during the Lunar New Year holiday. But, hit by the aftermath of political protest and growing precautions against the coronavirus threat, the theatrical business took a steep tumble.

The Japanese box office leaped by 17% in 2019 to set a record $2.4 billion score, according to figures announced Tuesday by the Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan, locally known as Eirin. The previous high was the $2.2 billion recorded in 2016.

The Japanese box office jumped more than 17 percent to a record $2.39 billion (261 billion yen) in 2019, with admissions up more than 15 percent to 194,910, the highest attendance since 1971.Despite a slowly shrinking population and the rise of streaming platforms, astrong lineup of films, rising wages for the young, low unemployment and a rise in leisure timedue to government work reforms all helped drive the record box office numbers.Hollywood's share rose slightly to 45.6 percent, its

Measures to limit travel and the closure of most cinemas almost completely eliminated box office takings in China on what should have been the country’s busiest movie-going weekend of the year. The pain is set to continue.

By Nancy Tartaglione

Cinema box office in Australia dipped by 2% in 2019 to an annual total of A$1.23 billion, or $841 million, according to data from the Motion Picture Distributors Association of Australia. That was the country’s third highest figure in local currency terms, but it also shows the theatrical industry to be rangebound since 2015.

Opening on Wednesday (Jan. 15), Korean-made comedy “Secret Zoo” landed on top of the South Korean box office. The Son Jae-gon (“My Scary Girl”) film earned $5.95 million from 813,000 admissions over its opening five days, including $4.3 million earned over the weekend. That was enough for a 38% share of the country’s total weekend box office. Distributed by Acemaker Movieworks, “Secret Zoo” sees the story of a couple who try to save a zoo from being shut down.

LOS ANGELES, (Variety.com) — Universal’s Dolittle and 1917 found out what Bad Boys will do when they come for you at the box office. Sony’s Bad Boys for Life, the third entry in the Will Smith and Martin Lawrence-led series, beat expectations and towered over the competition during the Martin Luther King Jr. weekend.

By Nancy Tartaglione

As domestic box office revenue ended on a down note in 2019 at $11.4 billion — falling 4 percent year-over-year but also marking the second best on record — movie attendance also took a tumble in North America.Total theater attendance fell 4.6 percent from 2018 to 1.244 billion last year, the National Association of Theatre Owners disclosed on Jan. 17.

“Bad Boys for Life” is showing plenty of power at the North American box office with an impressive  launch of around $66 million at 3,740 venues over the four-day holiday weekend.

Will Smith and Martin Lawrence starrer Bad Boys for Life's box office collection report is here. The movie may become the second-best or the best MLK weekend opening of all-time at the box office. As per Deadline's report, the estimated collection of four-day gross could be around USD 63 million to 67 million. And as per the same reports, the movie has already minted around USD 23 million on its opening day.

U.S. movie admissions slid 4.6% last year to 1.24 billion, the second lowest admissions number during the current century, the National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO) has reported.

Bad Boys for Life made quite an impression at the Thursday box office, earning a January-best $6.4 million in previews.The threequel, reteaming Will Smith and Martin Lawrence, opens 17 years after the last installment in Sony's action comedy franchise. The R-rated pic is tracking to earn $38 million to $50 million over the long Martin Luther King Jr.

On par with 2018, the overseas box office revenue of French movies reached an estimated €244.4 millions ($272 million) from 40 million admissions in 2019, according to a report unveiled by UniFrance.

By Tom Grater

The second weekend of 2020 made for a downbeat period of moviegoing at multiplexes throughout China, with local holdover releases taking the top three spots at the box office.New Classic Media's romantic comedy Adoringscored first with $8.8 million, according to Artisan Gateway, a box office tracking company. After two weekends, the film has earned $81.3 million.

Lulu Wang’s “The Farewell” and Clint Eastwood’s “Richard Jewell” both flopped in China with dismal $261,000 and $212,000 opening weekends, respectively, according to data from Maoyan. 

Universal’s “Dolittle” crushed “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” in an unusual opening weekend clash at the South Korean box office.