‘The Batman,’ ‘RRR’ Rule U.K. Box Office

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter“Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore” welcomed a boost in ticket sales at the international box office, though the third installment in the “Harry Potter” spinoff series already seems to be running out of steam.Over the weekend, “Fantastic Beasts 3” added $71.7 million from 66 foreign markets, taking the film’s international tally to $150.4 million. After debuting to a less-than-enchanting $43 million in North America, “The Secrets of Dumbledore” has collected $193.4 million to date.Along with United States and Canada, the Warner Bros.

Warner Bros/DC’s The Batman has winged its way past three-quarters of a billion dollars at the worldwide box office, maintaining its spot as the highest-grossing film of the year, globally and domestically. The worldwide cume through Sunday is $751.1M with the Matt Reeves-directed spin on the Caped Crusader counting $386.1M at the international box office and $365M in North America.

“The Batman” joins a list led by “Spider-Man: No Way Home” ($1.89 billion) and also includes the Chinese films “The Battle at Lake Changjin” ($902.5 million) and “Hi, Mom” ($822 million) as well as the James Bond movie “No Time to Die” ($774 million). “The incredible response we’ve seen at theaters across the country is a testament to both the enduring power of this iconic DC superhero and the huge appetite out there to experience great movies on the big screen,” said Warner domestic distribution head Jeff Goldstein in a statement.

Naman Ramachandran S.S. Rajamouli’s Indian blockbuster “RRR,” starring NTR Jr and Ram Charan, has grossed INR10 billion ($132 million) globally, according to numbers released by producer DVV Entertainment. An action-drama set in the 1920s, the historical fiction story by Vijayendra Prasad and Rajamouli imagines real-life Indian freedom fighters Alluri Sitarama Raju (Ram Charan) and Komaram Bheem (NTR Jr) meeting and becoming fast friends.

Refresh for latest…: Lots of moving parts at the international box office again this weekend as early rollout of another major studio title is kickstarting into business prior to its domestic debut. To wit: Warner Bros’ Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets Of Dumbledore made its first apparition in 22 offshore markets this frame, grossing $58M to lead overseas turnstiles before it heads to North America in the coming week. Meanwhile, Paramount’s Sonic The Hedgehog 2, which already had a strong launch in key offshore hubs last frame, is on a tear. The Jeff Fowler-directed sequel added $37M internationally this weekend, and with the $71M North America debut, landed as the global No. 1 movie this session. Factoring in last weekend, Sonic’s international cume is $70M for a $141M running global total.

video-game-inspired flick grossed $26.5 million on its opening night, according to IMDB’s Box Office Mojo database.“Ambulance,” a Michael Bay thriller starring Jake Gyllenhaal, came next, grossing $3.2 million on its premiere.“Morbius,” the latest movie based on a Marvel Comics character, followed with $2.9 million Friday and $49.8 million cumulatively.

Refresh for latest…: New blood in the form of Sony’s Jared Leto-fronted Morbius led the global box office this weekend with an $84M debut, while Paramount’s Sonic The Hedgehog 2 got off to a booming $25.5M start from its first 31 offshore markets. Warner Bros/DC also has something to crow about as The Batman topped $700M worldwide.

Morbius” — about a doctor who splices his DNA with a vampire, with predictable results — grossed $17.1 million in the U.S.

Refresh for latest…: After setting a new opening day record for a local title in India, S.S. Rajamouli’s RRR (Rise! Roar! Revolt!) continued a strong run in the home market throughout the weekend and picked up an estimated $3.8M from 16 offshore hubs along with $9.5M from North America.

The Lost City” led the domestic box office on its premier night Friday.The star-studded flick grossed $11.6 million, according to the IMDB’s Box Office Mojo database.The latest Batman reboot followed with $5.5 million Friday and $317 million cumulatively.Indian epic drama “RRR” also premiered, grossing $5.4 million on its opening night.

S.S. Rajamouli’s highly-anticipated Telugu title RRR has come roaring out of the gate, both at home and abroad. With an estimated 137 crore ($18M) on Friday in India, the epic smashed records to set the best opening day for a local film ever. In so doing, Rajamouli topped his own previous record-holder in the market, 2017’s Baahubali 2: The Conclusion. Worldwide, the opening day in India, along with North America and other offshore launches, came in at an estimated 223 crore ($30.5M)

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media ReporterAfter three weeks atop domestic box office charts, “The Batman” will face competition from a nearly endangered Hollywood species: movie stars.At a time when familiar franchises, not big-name talent, have been dictating commercial success, Paramount is banking on the combined wattage of Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum to lure audiences to “The Lost City,” a screwball romantic comedy that opens in theaters this weekend and harkens back to a genre that has mostly fallen out of favor with moviegoers.Buoyed by strong reviews and A-list actors, including a cameo from Brad Pitt and villainous turn from Daniel Radcliffe, “The Lost City” is expected to earn a promising $20 million in its opening weekend. Those ticket sales would put the film in an extremely close race against “The Batman” for first place.

Naman Ramachandran Warner Bros.’ “The Batman” continued atop the U.K. and Ireland box office for the third weekend in a row with £3.3 million ($4.4 million), according to numbers released by Comscore. The film, starring Robert Pattinson and Zoë Kravitz now has a total of £32.6 million.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief‘The Batman’ flew to an opening weekend of $11.6 million and landed in first place at the box office in China. It was the biggest opening this year in China for a Hollywood title but, with a return of coronavirus problems affecting cinema operations, the result has a tinge of missed opportunity.Data from consultancy Artisan Gateway showed the film amassing $11.8 million including previews from Thursday. Imax reported that the film earned $2 million of that total from its screens or 16% of the films China weekend total.

Refresh for latest…: Just days after Warner Bros/DC’s The Batman rounded the five-century mark globally, it is now just shy of $600M worldwide in its third weekend. A $49.1M overseas frame (down 46% versus last session) brings the international box office cume on the Matt Reeves-directed pic to $298M, with global standing at $598.1M through Sunday.

A global pandemic which closed a majority of the world’s cinemas from 2020-21 just won’t keep large format exhibitor Imax down.

The Batman remains a hit.

With this result, “The Batman” is now in striking range of the domestic totals of “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” ($330 million) and “Aquaman” ($335 million) as it still has one more weekend with major premium format support before the release of Sony/Marvel’s “Morbius” on April 1. The one blemish on the film’s numbers was its release in China this weekend, opening to just $12 million as it added $49 million from international markets.