Disney and Fox’s “Ad Astra” scaled international box office charts again, maintaining its lead for the second weekend in a row. The astronaut drama starring Brad Pitt amassed another $18 million from 50 foreign territories, easily placing first overseas among Hollywood offerings.
After two weekends in theaters, “Ad Astra” has generated $53.5 million abroad and $89 million worldwide. The film opened in Russia this weekend with $3.1 million, as well as Brazil with $900,000. Top performing markets include the United Kingdom ($5.6 million), France ($5.4 million) and Japan ($4.5 million).
Universal’s “Abominable” expanded its international footprint to 30 territories, where it reaped $8.8 million. In North America, the animated adventure launched in first place with $20.8 million for a global start of $29.7 million. The movie, a co-production between DreamWorks Animation and China’s Pearl Studios, kicked off in 27 new markets this weekend and had the strongest showing in Mexico with $2 million, followed by Brazil with $1.5 million and Germany with $700,000. “Abominable” bows in China on Tuesday.
“Abominable” follows a young girl named Yi (voiced by Marvel’s “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” actress Chloe Bennet) who embarks on an epic journey to reunite a yeti named Everest with his family. Jill Culton wrote and directed “Abominable” and is the first female to independently make an animated movie for a Hollywood studio.
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Among holdovers, Warner Bros.’ “It: Chapter Two” collected another $11 million from 78 overseas markets, marking a 48% decline. Ticket sales currently stand at $223.5 million internationally and $417.4 million worldwide.
Falling not far behind on foreign box office charts, Focus Features’ big-screen adaptation of “Downton Abbey” pocketed $10 million this weekend for an internationally tally of $48.6 million. The movie crossed $100 million at the worldwide box office, with global ticket sales currently at $107 million. Universal (Focus Features’ parent studio) is handling its international rollout.
Meanwhile, Sony’s “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” picked up $7 million from 62 territories, boosting its overseas earnings to $218.4 million. Globally, the movie has brought in a strong $357 million to date. “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” set another record for Quentin Tarantino when it opened in South Korea this weekend with $1.4 million. Bona Films is debuting the movie in China, its final market, on Oct. 25.
