Interesting how Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted skipped most of Europe on its opening, yet still made enough money to claim the #1 spot without much trouble. Prometheus was steady in 2nd while Men in Black 3 dropped to 3rd.
Now the absence of Madagascar 3 from the majority of European theaters (for now) can be explained easily: the European Football Championship. Distributors knowing better than to schedule blockbuster movies during the biggest sporting event of the continent. Football (soccer for you Americans out there) or not, Madagascar 3 grossed $77.2 million during the weekend, more than twice as much as the next film on the chart. Currently the animation is at $102.5 million internationally for a worldwide total of $176.2 million. In the past Madagascar (2005) made $532.7 million worldwide while Madagascar 2 (2008) $603.9 million. I believe this new entry should easily top both of those, making Madagascar the 2nd most popular DreamWorks Animation franchise ever (behind the late Shrek).
Prometheus moved to 2nd place, up 10% with $38.6 million for a new foreign total of $92.7 million. Worldwide the figure is $153.9 million, already more than Alien ($102.9 million in 1979) and Aliens ($131.1 million in 1986) unadjusted for inflation. Sometime this week it will become the highest grosser of the Alien films, a title currently held by the often hated Alien vs Predator ($172.5 million in 2004). At this rate Prometheus might be looking at $300 million or more when all is said and done.
Men in Black 3 was a very close 3rd with $38.1 million, down 52%. While in North America we could say this is slightly under-performing, internationally it’s the other way around. $364.6 million is a testament to that, already more money than any other Men in Black film (unadjusted for inflation). Worldwide the sci-fi comedy has recently passed the $500 million mark and should out-gross the $589.4 million of the original sometime in the coming weeks, finishing north of $600 million.
Snow White and the Huntsman dropped 39%, down to 4th with $24.1 million. The reinvented fairy-tale has made $83.5 million so far internationally and $187.6 million worldwide. In order to cover its huge $170 million budget, this needs more than $350 million, so almost twice what it has right now. I just don’t think Snow White and the Huntsman can get that far, making me doubt the announced sequel even more.
The Avengers rounds out the top 5 with $8.2 million for an insanely high total of $824.4 million internationally. Only Avatar, Titanic and the last Harry Potter made more money outside North America. Worldwide Marvel’s The Avengers has more than $1.4 billion, ranking 3rd on the all-time chart.
