What is this?: Ever since I became interested in the box office, the international scene has appealed to me at least as much as North America, thanks to its sheer variety and dynamism. Recently, I noticed that there appeared to be some interest in summaries of the notable goings-on in international territories, so I decided to start what will hopefully be a weekly series, chronicling just that.

On the Data and Coverage: For the most part, I will be using Box Office Mojo as my data source, with specific exceptions such as admissions totals from other sources (which I will mention). Note that I will not be including the UK in these reports, due to /u/introvertlynothing's series on its box office (which you should check out if you're interested in the international box office). Additionally, I usually won't be considering China, because most box office stories from it are already extensively covered on this sub, due to its sheer importance as a market. Expect to see China in these reports only if I feel there's a notable story (like a big local movie) that's not already being covered here.

As for the remaining countries, I will be splitting them into two sections. The major territories are Australia, Brazil, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, South Korea, Spain (and the UK), which usually tower over the rest of the international market, excluding China, in terms of importance. The non-major territories are all the other countries with anything particularly notable to report, which will vary from week to week. With that out of the way, here's the highlights themselves:

Major Territories:

Australia: In common with much of the world, the weekend ending February 24 was very quiet here. Alita: Battle Angel comfortably topped the weekend box office with a second weekend of $1,650,520 at 453 theaters, for a 39% drop - worse than Ready Player One and mediocre considering the near total lack of competition. In eleven days, it has made a total of $5,243,049, versus Ready Player One's $6,700,267 through the same period. At least Alita's second weekend almost matched Ghost in the Shell's opening, though! The only new wide opener was Stan & Ollie, which made a mere $536,104 at 263 theaters over the weekend. Overall, all movies in release grossed a combined total of just $6,921,451 - the low-water mark of 2019 to date and worse than any weekend last year.

Brazil: Happy Death Day 2U narrowly topped the weekend box office with an opening of just $811,108 on 488 screens - less than half of its predecessor, which to be fair, did open on a holiday weekend. Meanwhile, Alita: Battle Angel slipped to second with a mere $807,635 on 708 screens (a lacking $1,141 PTA) in its second weekend, for a total of $2,953,439 to date, versus Ready Player One's $3,949,265 through the same period in a market where futuristic sci-fi generally doesn't appeal to audiences.

France: Serial (Bad) Weddings 2, the sequel to a 2014 culture-clash comedy smash that even saw a measure of export success, again topped the box office in its fourth weekend. Its $4,383,927 fourth weekend at 819 theaters (a modest 29% drop) was good for a total of $42,038,047 to date, and the sequel will soon top fellow comedy sequel The Magic Tuche's $47,427,990 final gross from the same time last year. France has a long tradition of major local comedies opening near the end of January or near the beginning of February, of which 'Serial' will wind up as the highest-grossing since 2011 on better holds than recent examples. However, it's still not going to approach its predecessor's $104,659,347 total. Alita: Battle Angel repeated in second with $3,801,696 at 594 theaters, a 34% drop for a much healthier overall second weekend than the rest of Europe. Still, its $11,101,941 total to date is only marginally ahead of Ready Player One's $10,638,604 through the same point.

Additionally, February school holidays mean that animation and other family fare floods the market at this time of year - this time, there's three heavyweight Hollywood sequels in contention for French schoolkids, of which How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World looks like the definitive winner. The threequel made another $3,054,671 at 826 theaters in its third weekend, representing an 18% drop, for a total of $17,264,399 to date. That's marginally behind its predecessor's $18,338,268 through the same point, but it's convincingly trumping Ralph Breaks the Internet. The latter grossed $3,021,597 in its second weekend, a 23% fall, for a total of $9,134,828 through 12 days. France is normally a strong market for Disney animation, but the first 'Ralph' represented a rare misstep with a $14,398,462 total gross, which its sequel should barely exceed. Finally, The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part was a big botch, drowned out by the competition with a mere $1,363,723 debut from 452 theaters. In a weak market for the Lego brand, The LEGO Batman Movie still opened higher at $1,819,681. Overall, the French market continued to show its typical February dynamism, as four movies exceeded $3 million, and another five went between $1 and $3 million. Still, the overall weekend gross of $29,767,365 was only marginally ahead of $28,643,954 over the equivalent weekend last year, in a country with a firmly engrained cinema culture.

Germany: The German market has resided in a state of quiet misery, occasionally broken up by weekends of levity, for the past year or so. 2018 was the worst year in ages, and 2019 might not be much better. So it was that How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World three-peated with a third weekend gross of $2,046,111 at 711 theaters for a total of $14,070,105. That was decent for the threequel, albeit behind its predecessor's third weekend, as well as its total of $15,828,580 through that point. However, it was an unhealthy first-place gross for a country of over 80 million people, with an average ticket price over $10. Alita: Battle Angel was in second place with a second weekend of $1,717,923 on 1,041 (presumably screens), for a lackluster 40% drop (against very limited competition) and a total of $5,195,249 to date. Both of those were marginally ahead of Ready Player One's comparable figures. Finally, local comedy-drama Der Junge muss an die frische Luft, a biopic of one of Germany's most beloved comedians, is still firmly in play in its ninth weekend, reaching a smashing total of $31,012,617 to date.

India: Box office data from India is usually sketchy at best, but Total Dhamaal, the third installment of the Dhamaal comedy franchise, being a Fox Star Studios release means that Fox reported an official weekend gross. The movie made a total of $9,576,741 in its opening over the weekend, a figure for which I can't provide proper comparisons due to sketchy data.

Italy: Local comedy When Mom is Away has displayed better than typical longevity, topping the box office in its third weekend. The movie made another $1,294,411 on 489 screens over a slow weekend for a total of $6,710,096 to date. In second place, Clint Eastwood's The Mule made $1,017,249 on 466 screens, also in its third weekend, to reach a total of $6,141,261 in a country where Clint is revered. That's just ahead of Sully's $5,973,381 through the same period, on course to a total of $7,316,089. The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part rounded out the top three with a floppish $972,068 debut on 449 screens, versus The LEGO Batman Movie's $1,263,327 opening in a market where the Lego brand isn't big. Finally, Cold Pursuit opened in fifth with an icy $878,375 on 322 screens, substantially behind The Commuter's $1,333,257 debut from just 243 screens, while Alita: Battle Angel sunk 50% for a measly $2,047,317 11-day total, below Ready Player One's opening.

Japan: Alita: Battle Angel thudded to a lackluster $3,124,941 three-day debut (falsely reported by BOM as a two-day debut) on 843 screens, below Ghost in the Shell's $3,779,504 three-day opening and even further behind Ready Player One's $4,406,587 three-day sum. Nonetheless, that was enough for first place over a somewhat quiet weekend. Local movies rounded out the top five, while Aquaman's 38% third weekend hit took it straight from first to sixth in a typically backloaded market. Nonetheless, its $11,447,416 gross to date has already trumped Justice League's $9.4 million total. Finally, Bohemian Rhapsody, at $106,382,952 after its sixteenth weekend, has officially achieved the best Japanese opening-to-total multiple (with an opening that's now only 4.1% of its total) in modern box office history. With its Oscar glory, I would expect a huge bump this upcoming weekend and a final total somewhere from $115 to $120 million.

Mexico: Similar to the other major Latin American market, Mexican cinemas endured a slow weekend as Cold Pursuit opened on top. Despite the first-place debut, its opening added up to just $1,405,081, versus The Commuter's $1,821,275. In second place, Alita: Battle Angel fell by 53% in a typically fast-burn market, recording a second weekend of $1,291,594 on a whopping 1,542 screens for a total of $6,454,889 to date. In comparison, Ready Player One had made $7,310,165 by the end of its second weekend, while Ghost in the Shell had $4,209,029. How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World rounded out the top three with another $953,772 on 767 screens in its fourth weekend. With a total of $18,803,998 to date, the three-quel looks to be on course to exceed its predecessor's $19,941,262 total.

Russia-CIS: Hiccup and Toothless were the undisputed story of the weekend, as How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World soared to a $10,940,400 debut on 1,756 screens, in a market where DreamWorks is a big brand and fantasy is a big deal. However, that was still slightly lower than The Boss Baby's $11,196,038 opening. In second place, Alita: Battle Angel flamed out by 68% in another fast-burn market, making $2,180,963 on 1,536 screens in its second weekend for a total of $10,301,020 to date. By comparison, Ready Player One had $9,659,563 at the same point in its release.

South Korea: Local movie Svaha: The Sixth Finger comfortably topped the box office with a $6,515,308 debut on 1,174 screens over the proper three-day weekend. According to Deadline, "the thriller from director Jang Jae-hyn connects a cult to a series of mysterious cases of missing teenage girls". In second, another local movie, cop comedy Extreme Job, took another fairly steep late-run weekend hit, down 49% to $3,674,233 on 905 screens - a typical slide for the market despite the movie's strong word-of-mouth. The movie with a somewhat out-there premise ("A team of narcotics detectives goes undercover in a fried chicken joint to stake out an organized crime gang. But things take an unexpected turn when the detectives' chicken recipe suddenly transforms the rundown restaurant into the hottest eatery in town".) nonetheless surged to a total of $118,062,137 through its fifth weekend - second all-time behind Roaring Currents' now unachievable $131,556,156. Yet another local movie rounded out the top three, with crime drama Innocent Witness displaying strong word of mouth with a mere 16% second weekend slide. The movie grossed $3,395,860 on 1,046 screens in its second weekend for a total of $11,344,743 to date. Finally, Alita: Battle Angel's dreams of longevity are dead, with a 70% fade to just $735,354 on 412 screens in its third weekend. Alita's not going to make much more than its $16,067,097 to date, versus Ready Player One's $17,111,776 through the same point in a major market for futuristic sci-fi.

Spain: How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World opened to a good $2,644,332 from 329 theaters, more than enough for the top spot. That's nonetheless slightly behind its predecessor's $2,832,916 debut back in August 2014. Alita: Battle Angel was second in its second weekend, suffering a 47% hit to $1,059,646 on 560 (likely screens rather than theaters) for a total of $3,671,741 to date. Ready Player One had fared far better through the same point, with $5,637,234. Green Book rounded out the top three, slipping just 14% for a $744,995 fourth weekend on 350 and a total of $5,444,299 to date. Expect it to see a huge boost this upcoming weekend, on the back of its Best Picture win.

Non-Major Territories:

Argentina: What was once a thriving (and growing) mid-sized market in dollar terms has been socked by the Argentine peso's devaluation against the dollar. For example, How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World has made $2,976,899 through 25 days of release, versus its predecessor's $6,220,320 total. However, in local currency, the trilogy conclusion has already reached an impressive 116,675,984 pesos, compared to its predecessor's 52,012,201 total. Likewise, Ralph Breaks the Internet has grossed $6,203,635 to date, versus the original's $7,558,850. However, the local currency comparison reveals a different story, with a blockbuster 243,144,029 pesos for the sequel to date versus the original's 38,648,627 total.

Czech Republic: How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World opened on top with a sky-high $983,359 on 164 screens, for a total already over $1 million, including previews. That's the market's second biggest animated opening of all time, only behind Minions, and already almost half of what its predecessor made there in total. Meanwhile, local movie Zeny v behu, about a mother who is determined to run a marathon despite not having any previous training or practice, finally fell from the top spot with the Dragons' ascension. Still, the movie has already grossed almost $5 million to date ($4,975,713, to be exact) after making $689,380 on 97 screens in its fourth weekend. That's only sixth place among all local movies there, of which #1 is Women in Temptation's very achievable $6,883,097 back in 2010, but it's nonetheless ahead of every movie of last year except Bohemian Rhapsody. Speaking of Bo Rhap, the Queen biopic isn't stopping just yet in its seventeenth week of release. It's still in the weekend top five, with a mind-blowing total of $10,565,460 to date from a mid-sized market at best. Avatar has still grossed more, at a seemingly unassailable $12,469,493, but Bo Rhap has already surpassed its admissions, at 1,544,048 to date (according to Czech box office site ufd.cz) versus 1,358,262 in total (according to the European Audiovisual Observatory) in a country with about 10.6 million people.

Greece: Back in the 2000s, before its economic crash, Greece was a strong and improving mid-sized market. Now, it's a perpetually depressed marketplace that rarely produces any significant news. Still, The Favourite is benefiting from its Greek director and the huge resultant publicity, grossing $250,099 on 103 screens in its fourth weekend, but second wide. Its $1,327,217 total to date could reach $2 million or more by the end of its run, which would rank above all of last year's movies except Infinity War.

Hong Kong: Alita: Battle Angel topped the week of February 18-24 with another $853,929, down 24% (albeit comparing a full week to a weekend) against limited competition for a total of $5,212,770 to date. That's just ahead of Ready Player One's $5,056,332 through the same period, while crushing Ghost in the Shell's $2,538,517 total. Among other notable holdovers, two of the big Chinese New Year movies in China were also released in Hong Kong over the CNY period. The Hong Kong crime movie Integrity won with a total of $3,886,155 to date, versus $2,821,355 for Stephen Chow's comedy-drama The New King of Comedy. New openers were much quieter, with Thomas Vinterberg's Kursk, about the Russian submarine disaster, a surprise winner with $530,130 - likely enough to top Alita over the proper weekend - after flopping everywhere else to date. Meanwhile, Vice and The Favourite failed to benefit much from the awards season hubbub, with respective openings of $144,562 on 43 screens and $180,678 on 20 screens.

Poland: Local action-crime sequel Women of Mafia 2 comfortably topped the box office with a $2,047,447 debut on 498 screens. As impressive at that was, it still added up to barely half of its predecessor's earth-shaking $3,853,640 debut on 473 screens at the same time last year. Against that overwhelming competition, similarly-appealing movies took huge hits. Planeta Singli 3, another local sequel, this one a romantic comedy, faded by 66% in its third weekend for a nonetheless hearty $6,821,049 to date. Meanwhile, Alita: Battle Angel was down a crushing 72% in its second weekend. Its $934,217 total to date is below Ready Player One's $988,435 in the same period after a larger debut. Finally, How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World descended by a reasonable 40% after its huge opening for a $1,061,462 second weekend and a $3,916,182 total to date in a big market for animation, versus its predecessor's $3,040,249 through the same point.

The Netherlands: Alita: Battle Angel topped the box office again, making $692,754 on 214 screens for a reasonable 28% second weekend drop-off, likely aided by weather and school holidays, and a $1,988,797 total to date - one of the few markets where Alita's pacing ahead of Ready Player One ($1,843,928) through the same point. However, Belgian animated movie The Queen's Corgi, by the studio behind the Sammy's Adventures series among other animated titles, was less than $2,000 away from knocking Alita off its weekend perch. With a holiday-fueled 130% weekend bump, much better than its competition, the movie made $690,861 on 127 screens for a total of $1,556,864 to date. That's ahead of The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part's total after an extra weekend of release.

Meanwhile, Bohemian Rhapsody was still electric in its seventeenth weekend, reigning in the top five with another $384,717 on 164 screens for a total of $23,169,352 so far, or more than double what Infinity War made in total. Expect it to reach the all-time top three within the next week, ahead of Avatar's $23,686,268 and only behind Skyfall's $25,100,238 and Titanic's $27,024,273 in its original run. Even if Bo Rhap does the impossible, though, Titanic's overall 3,639,416 admissions total (according to the European Audiovisual Observatory) looks like an unbeatable record.

Ukraine: Like its larger neighbor, How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World dominated in the Ukraine, opening to $1,000,872 on 406 screens. That comfortably beat Minions and The Boss Baby, while Alita: Battle Angel flamed out by 73% in its second weekend. With $1,483,039 to date after a $282,942 second frame on 328 screens, however, it's pacing way ahead of Ready Player One's $978,494 through the same point, and it's already beaten the latter's $1,235,151 total.

If I missed anything particularly notable with these (which are already much longer than I had intended!), my apologies. Notability is frequently a subject that's in the eye of the beholder, and I'm only human, so I will miss certain things. Otherwise, feel free to give me feedback or just generally comment on anything here.