Johnny Depp’s ‘Ebenezer’ Richer Abroad At $42M WW; ‘Ramayana’ Nears $150M WW; ‘Godzilla Minus Zero’ Roars Past $100M WW; ‘Wildwood’ $70M – Global Box Office

When it came to Johnny Depp’s comeback movie Ebenezer, moviegoers abroad weren’t as cheap as stateside audiences who gave it a discount with a $19M opening. Foreign audiences shelled out $23M in 62 markets for a $42M global opening, which in Scrooge and Paramount’s ledgers is good enough for a movie that cost a net $38M before global P&A spend.

Comps are hard here since we haven’t had a ton of mega major studio live-action Christmas movies post Covid (there was Red One which had a reported $26.6M offshore start in 75 markets). At $23M abroad, Ebenezer is ahead of such Halloween-themed movies as Goosebumps ($20.7M foreign opening in like-for-likes), The House With a Clock in its Walls ($19M) and Haunted Mansion ($16.7M foreign start)

Similar to the U.S. an older audience coupled with families showed up in most territories, and where Christmas Carol wasn’t popular (i.e. Mexico and Japan), the Depp draw was in effect. UK was rich shelling out $5.4M at 633 locations for the Ti West feature take of the Charles Dickens novella. Legs are expected given the love for Depp and the IP. Juicing grosses over there was a London world premiere that transformed Leicester Square into a winter-themed setting The UK campaign had a custom trailer which emphasized the film’s British cast, humor and Dickensian themes. There were holiday activations at Tower Bridge, Leadenhall Market and Potters Fields featured carolers and seasonal activities, while a London ghost tour hosted creators with a combined reach of more than 75M. Partnerships included Branston, Ferrero Rocher and Aunt Bessie’s.

Ebenezer was beat by a local film in France by nickels and dimes we understand with $2.5M at 505 locations plus paid previews. Ebenezer was No. 1 on Saturday and Sunday and got a goose from Armistice Day opening on Nov. 11. The French cut of the movie featured an end-credits song by Mylène Farmer and contextual advertising in financial publications and the Paris Métro. Depp appeared on France’s Star Academy and TF1.

Scrooge was No. 1 Italy ($2M at 365 locations), Mexico ($1.7M at 855 locations), Spain ($1M at 23 locations), Poland ($900K at 208 sites plus paid previews; long legs expected since it’s a Christmas movie), Belgium ($372K at 72 sites plus paid previews), and Panama/Central America ($340K at 125 locations including paid previews). He was No. 2 in Germany ($1.5M at 512 sites where he was beat by a local title), in addition to Brazil ($475K at 589 locations), Netherlands ($416K at 103 locations) and Colombia ($262K at 204 sites). Ebenezer was No. 3 in Australia with $650K at 295 sites, No. 4 in UAE with $222K at 53 locations with a Middle East take of $600K. Scrooge was beat by a slew of local films in Japan at No. 6 with $450K at 265 locations.

In regards to the pic’s international campaign there were local advertising placements with the Premier League, LaLiga, Europa League, Liga MX and Bundesliga, alongside entertainment programming including The Great British Bake Off, The Masked Singer, Gogglebox and The Voice.

Market-specific initiatives included a Day of the Dead-themed marigold activation in Mexico City, Ghost of Christmas Past appearances in Spain and Italy, holiday-themed mall and cinema takeovers in Germany, and a collaboration with Japanese comedian Jun Itoda.

Sony and Prime Focus Studio’s Ramayana: Rise of a Legend saw its global box office jump to $147.5M with a $38.1M second global weekend, a majority of that coming from abroad with $32.6M. After 11 days in release, the Namit Malhotra directed movie is the seventh highest Indian movie of all-time.

The overseas rollout included six new markets pushing the overall foreign total to 42. That included Indonesia ($573K), Cambodia ($286K), and Mexico with record-breaking openings for an Indian film.

India led all markets with a cume of $97.2M powered by the highest second weekend in local history (₹223 crore / $23.6M). Other top-grossing international markets to-date include the UK ($5.5M), United Arab Emirates ($4.7M), Australia ($4.2M), Thailand ($1.5M), Malaysia ($1.4M), and Germany ($1.1M).

Upcoming market releases: Brazil (Nov 19), Italy (Nov 19), Ukraine (Nov 19), Hungary (Nov 19), Poland (Nov 20), Argentina (Nov 26), Central America (Nov 26), Colombia (Nov 26), Ecuador (Nov 26), Peru (Nov 26) and Czechia (Nov 26).

Toho didn’t report foreign figures for the second global weekend of Godzilla Minus Zero but we hear it did $13.2M abroad, -43% for a running overseas total of $55.1M. Add that second weekend to domestic’s big drop of $8.3M and we’re at an estimated $21.5M second global frame, -66% from its previous No. 1 $63M global opening. Running global cume here is $104.8M on the movie which cost before global marketing around $20M.

Warner Bros Pictures Animation’s The Cat in the Hat posted a global weekend of $17M after a great hold stateside of $11.4M, -43% with foreign only delivering $5.6M. Running total is $55.8M WW with $38.2M from North America and $17.6M offshore. Top market totals are Mexico ($2.1M), Spain ($1.8M), Italy ($1.8M), Poland ($1.2M) and China ($1M) — nothing that dazzling for a family at the international B.O.

Laika’s Wildwood has risen its global cume to $70M after a $3M foreign weekend from FilmNation sold territories and another $4.5M from its fourth domestic weekend. Running foreign total is $22M with several territories left to open including France on Dec. 9 and $48.4M from Fathom’s domestic release. The movie is bound to overtake Travis Knight’s previous 2016 Laika stop-motion movie, Kubo and the Two Strings ($76.2M WW).