Welcome back to my weekly series chronicling the highlights of the international box office. For a further explanation on the data, see the original post. Before we get to the content, I would like to apologize to everyone who has enjoyed and appreciated this series for its impromptu month-long hiatus. It turns out preparing this series every single week is exhausting, and I haven’t been feeling up to it, but that’s no excuse. Along that vein, I will no longer be including full write-ups for non-major territories, which will instead be replaced with selected highlights. With that said, let’s get to it!

Major Territories:

Australia: Shazam! comfortably topped the weekend box office, with a second frame of $2,360,469 at 315 theaters, representing a modest 26% drop thanks to the start of spring holidays. Its cume of $7,103,363 to date is marginally behind Ant-Man’s $7,377,580 through the same point, which ultimately stretched to a $10,901,077 finish. Dumbo increased 6% in second, soaring to another $1,067,013 at 363 theaters over its third weekend. Australia’s not one of the flying elephant reboot’s brighter lights overall, as its $5,149,675 total to date is pacing behind Alice Through the Looking Glass’s $5,454,225 after its third weekend, though the holidays should allow it to ultimately exceed the latter’s $6,472,106 total. Captain Marvel rounded out a holdover-dominated top three, moving merely 10% slower with another $765,808 at 271 theaters in its sixth weekend. Its $27,388,777 total to date is marginally behind Black Panther’s $28,873,634 before advancing to a finish of $31,939,868.

The first of the openings was Wonder Park, down in a measly fourth with $711,450 at 297 theaters to reach a total of $1,424,450 so far. Fellow Paramount animated movie Sherlock Gnomes rolled out with a similar strategy last year to make $1,412,871 in its extended opening, but with one less week of holidays, Wonder Park is unlikely to match its $5,226,392 finish. Us was reduced to fifth in its third frame with a steep 41% drop to $684,391 at 249 theaters. On the bright side, its current total of $5,684,581 has already bested Get Out’s $4,641,142 at closing. In sixth, Five Feet Apart was another movie to appreciate the holidays. With a 19% dip to $680,032 at 240 theaters for a total of $3,603,974 to date, it’s tracking very closely to Love, Simon ($4,384,326 finish) through the same point. The next spot down went to The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part, which is pretty much out of play in the Northern Hemisphere, but there were no Australian school holidays to play through in February. Its 38% increase was the best of the chart, but a fourth weekend of $614,981 at 317 theaters added up to a measly $5,473,289 total to date, well behind The LEGO Batman Movie’s $7,355,320 at the end of its fourth weekend.

Three more measly day-and-date openers were buried by the competition. The “best” of the sorry lot was Hellboy, with a hellish $553,286 eighth-place opening at 287 theaters. However, despite being no great shakes itself, Little bested its PTA with a nonetheless short $497,828 ninth-place start at 165 theaters. Finally, no holidays will be saving Missing Link after it debuted in twelfth with a truly pathetic $146,647 at 256 theaters. Overall, weekend box office added up to $9,525,395, well behind the $12,923,718 total of last year’s equivalent weekend.

Brazil: Shazam! is a bright light in this superhero-loving South American country, albeit with a somewhat steep 50% drop to $2,361,957 on 1,124 screens in its second weekend. Its $8,776,198 total to date is running a bit ahead of Ant-Man’s $8,228,056 through the same point, but with Avengers: Endgame looming, it looks unlikely to exceed the MCU movie’s $12,431,089 total. The delayed local sequel De Pernas pro Ar 3 opened to $1,803,098 on 1,010 screens in second. That might look solid, but its predecessor made $2,816,101 on 715 screens in its December 2012 opening, before legging out to a holiday-aided $25,402,893 finish. Following behind in third was Breakthrough, getting a week’s head start on its North American opening with $1,446,872 on 571 screens. That was no Shack, but it crushed the limited releases of previous faith-based movies.

A slowing lot tailed the top three with sub-$1 million weekend grosses, the best of which was Dumbo’s lowly 49% fall to $853,784 in its third weekend, to reach $6,384,951 to date. Alice Through the Looking Glass’s $9,029,989 total now looks unachievable. After didn’t amount to much with a fifth-place $561,923 opening on 505 screens, which was barely ahead of Captain Marvel’s sixth-place $558,509 sixth weekend. With $37,221,139 to date, that was enough to officially best Black Panther’s $36,942,425 total. Finally, Five Feet Apart won’t make much more than its $4,864,486 cume to date, which is mid-pack among comparable teen romances in a fertile territory for such movies.

France: Local comedy revival Tanguy is Back topped the box office, but its modest $2,992,504 debut at 622 theaters paled compared to last year’s delayed comedy sequel Taxi 5. However, Pet Sematary spooked a fair few French in second with an admirable $2,424,974 opening at 322 theaters, which was near the top end of original non-event horror, and almost matched Evil Dead’s total. Dumbo rounded out the top three with another $2,230,179, for a modest 22% drop in its third weekend as school holidays started in parts of France, for a $10,211,817 total. The Hexagon exemplified the Tim Burton movie’s trend of acting like a genuine blockbuster in much of Europe even as it crashes elsewhere, soaring ahead of Cinderella and even Maleficent through the same point, while exceeding Alice Through the Looking Glass’s final total.

In a mere fourth, Shazam! paled further compared to Ant-Man, shrinking 37% to register $1,780,618 at 540 theaters in its second weekend. That allowed its total to reach $5,373,870, far shy of the aforementioned Ant-Man’s $8,184,482 through the same point after a milder sophomore slide. Wonder Park rounded out the top five with a surprisingly healthy $1,744,716 second weekend at 699 theaters. Its $5,173,915 total to date is already ahead of the $3,430,583 Sherlock Gnomes made in its entire run. Not far behind in sixth was another animated movie, The Queen’s Corgi, with a $1,568,127 debut at 511 theaters. That was almost double the Belgian studio nWave’s previous effort, The Son of Bigfoot, which however opened at far fewer theaters.

Among notable cumes to date, Captain Marvel has reached $24,672,146 through its sixth weekend, well shy of Black Panther’s $30,538,498 through the same point. Similarly, Us has a $5,210,251 total through its fourth weekend, quite distantly trailing Get Out’s $7,133,994 to the same point. Overall, the weekend total of $20,999,028 trailed the $26,145,284 of last year’s equivalent frame.

Germany: Perhaps it’s not surprising that After connected in one of the strongest countries for the Fifty Shades series, with an impressive studio-estimated $3.2 million debut at 485 theaters. French hit Serial (Bad) Weddings 2 slipped to second despite a weather-fueled 16% weekend increase to $2,031,155 in its sophomore salvo. Its $4,754,809 total to date is marginally ahead of its predecessor, but the sequel is unlikely to show the stamina necessary to best the slow-burn sleeper hit original.

Behind those two, the rest of the box office was modest at best, though Pet Sematary is notably (but not all that surprisingly) besting Shazam! to date, with $2,877,120 versus $2,779,853 through their respective second weekends. Nonetheless, the former still trails Evil Dead through the same point, while the latter is smaller than Ant-Man after its second weekend. Among the bomb squad, Wonder Park wasn’t a box office attraction with just $933,824 (which at least crushed Sherlock Gnomes), while Hellboy was expectedly heinous with a mere $559,728. In between the two, Dumbo reached a pathetic $3,846,864 through its third weekend, which was around 25% below fellow Disney remake underperformer (in Germany) Cinderella. Last but not least, Captain Marvel, at $22,530,159 to date, will best Black Panther’s $23,392,484 total, while Us, with $4,233,319 to date, will not exceed Get Out’s $5,061,485 total.

Italy: Like in Germany, After pleased Italian audiences in the same way as the Fifty Shades series, with an international-best debut of $3,714,875 on 606 screens. In second, Dumbo dipped a fairly steep 53% after a discount-fueled sophomore frame, grossing $1,552,901 on 688 screens in its third weekend. However, its $10,552,368 total to date still trails behind Cinderella and Maleficent through the same point, in a country where the Disney brand is very strong.

The other movies in play all grossed under $1 million, with moderate drops by Italian standards. Shazam!, at $3,367,282 to date after a 50% decline to a third-place $938,147 second weekend on 474 screens, is pacing behind Ant-Man through the same point. In fourth and fifth respectively over their opening weekends, Hellboy actually beat Wonder Park, with nonetheless lacking respective sums of $864,920 on 359 screens and $813,342 on 397 screens. Among cume updates for low-grossing holdovers, Five Feet Apart has reached $5,218,213 to date – not overly surprising considering even Midnight Sun made over $4 million in total. The very delayed Book Club made more than Us in their respective second weekends, and the former has a good shot at ultimately outgrossing the latter. Finally, Captain Marvel is just about out of play with a total of $11,432,514 through its sixth weekend, well in excess of Black Panther’s $8,953,417 total.

Japan: Holdovers and general market depth normally carry the day in the Land of the Rising Sun, but not this time. Detective Conan: The Fist of Blue Sapphire, the latest of a long-running local animated franchise, had a crushing $13,067,176 debut in just two days, for a total of $16,838,892 since its Friday opening. According to Corpse, in terms of local currency, it’s the largest April debut in Japanese box office history, and third all-time both for animation and Japanese movies (all in addition to the franchise record). Against the Conan bluster, Hunter Killer oddly found its best debut of any international territory, with a nonetheless modest third-place $813,100 over the proper weekend, for a total of $1,102,879 to date. Meanwhile, Dumbo was a sad elephant, with a measly $6,874,257 cumed through its third weekend, barely ahead of Maleficent’s opening. Finally, Captain Marvel ($16,837,467 to date) has eclipsed Black Panther ($14,655,352 in total), but it may ultimately be beaten by Green Book ($16,689,629 to date).

Mexico: Local comedy sequel No Manches Frida 2 overshadowed Shazam! in first with a great $4,649,576 weekend debut, which was the second best ever for a local production, behind only Instructions Not Included. The aforementioned Shazam! was reduced to second with a 54% drop to a weekend gross of $2,666,041, though its $10,621,507 ten-day total is actually ahead of Ant-Man’s $10,177,112 through the same point. Dumbo rounded out the top three by falling 58% to $1,687,391 in its third weekend. With $17,699,598 to date, it has exceeded the total grosses of Alice Through the Looking Glass and Cinderella, but it’s unlikely to come close to Maleficent, which was high on action and spectacle in a country where those aspects play well.

The other notable holdover was Pet Sematary, down 60% to fifth with a second weekend gross of $810,476, for a total of $3,657,808 to date. Its opening alone bested Evil Dead’s total; however, Evil Dead was a limited release in Mexico, never expanding wider than 153 screens. Among additional openings, Wonder Park, After, and Hellboy filled out the bomb squad, respectively initializing with $1,061,084, $809,256 on 876 screens, and $714,499. Finally, Captain Marvel has exceeded Black Panther’s $28,322,788 total to reach $32,995,315 to date.

Russia-CIS: Along with the Ukraine, Russia was the only market where Hellboy opened on top, with a moderate $2,251,224 debut on 1,574 screens. However, Shazam! trailed just behind in its second weekend, declining 60% for a $2,056,586 gross on 1,756 screens, for a total of $8,464,130 to date. Ant-Man had made a slightly larger $8,579,332 through the same point. Pet Sematary rounded out the top three by making another $1,334,278 on 1,578 screens, for a 55% drop over its second weekend and a total of $5,172,473 thus far. The notable weaker holdovers subsequently reached the following grosses to date: $7,447,980 for Dumbo in 18 days (versus $9,205,293 for Alice Through the Looking Glass through its own third weekend), $27,877,413 for How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World to date (exceeding The Boss Baby’s $26,395,096 end-of-run total), and $20,043,491 for Captain Marvel to date (ahead of Black Panther’s $19,265,532 end-of-run total).

South Korea: A local movie called Birthday topped the slow box office with $1,743,937 on 865 screens in its second weekend, representing a mere 17% sophomore slide, for a total of $5,625,216 to date. On the other hand, its major opening competition in Shazam! flamed out horribly, falling to sixth with an 84% second weekend shrinkage to just $460,779 on 581 screens, to total $4,900,871 to date – which ensures it will finish with a mere fraction of Ant-Man’s $21,120,665 total finish. Hellboy opened in second with a lacking $1,226,498 on 726 screens, while among notable holdovers, Us has $10,936,479 through its third weekend (versus Get Out’s $14,649,767 through the same point), and Captain Marvel is nearing the end of its run with $44,655,576, sufficient to outgross Black Panther’s $42,859,368 total.

Spain: Local drug-themed comedy I Can Quit Whenever I Want topped the box office with a $1,786,949 debut at 357 theaters, outpacing the start of Pain and Glory, Pedro Almodóvar’s latest, a few weeks back. That movie, however, is faring relatively well by Almodóvar standards, with its $4,938,860 gross coming close to The Skin I Live In’s $5,442,749 through the same point, while exceeding the final totals of I’m So Excited and Julieta. Dumbo was just behind the local comedy in second over its third weekend, dipping 45% to make another $1,679,650 at 364 theaters, for a cume of $10,745,264 to date. That’s ahead of Maleficent through the same point, while comfortably beating Alice Through the Looking Glass and Cinderella’s final totals.

A few weak wide debuts rubbed shoulders with Shazam! ($2,883,169 to date, versus Ant-Man’s $2,305,527 through the same point) and Pet Sematary ($1,711,365 to date, versus Evil Dead’s $2,364,013 through the same point) in the subsequent positions. The best of those was After with $1,207,808 at 320 theaters, followed by French hit Mia and the White Lion (which also opened poorly in Russia) with $552,684 at 262 theaters, and lastly Wonder Park with just $524,367 at 346 theaters. Finally, there’s cume updates for Captain Marvel and Us, both still in play but fading rapidly. Respectively, they have grossed $13,429,857 (easily beating Black Panther’s $9,716,813 total) and $3,504,564 (marginally behind Get Out’s $3,804,221 through the same point) to date.

Selected Non-Major Territory Highlights:

In Colombia, The Curse of La Llorona opened a week prior to its North American debut (as well as most of the rest of the world) with $842,027 on 205 screens – far below most of the Conjuring movies but otherwise strong for horror. Meanwhile, Belgium welcomed After with an estimated $565,000 in previews from 53 screens. Finally, in Hong Kong, local movie P Storm has matched its Chinese success by blowing to $1,549,009 to date following a $762,390 opening (ahead of its predecessor L Storm), growing larger than Shazam! over the week after being soundly beaten on the weekend.

As always, I look forward to any feedback or other comments anyone might have!