The big international box office news this week isn’t actually from the weekend — which was again led by Korea and saw continued ups and downs versus last session as moviegoers await new product. Instead, after 100 days of closure, French cinemas re-opened beginning Monday this week, and with at least 40 films programmed for
International Box Office
A pair of China-focused panels at the Cannes Virtual Market this morning provided some insight into what’s happening in the Middle Kingdom as Beijing deals with a recent reemergence of coronavirus cases and movie theaters remain shuttered. The news wasn’t terribly positive. Jerry Ye, Chairman of Huaying Tianxia (Tianjin) Film Development said there is “no
As Regal Entertainment owner Cineworld prepares to re-open its movie theaters, the group has agreed a $250M secured debt facility with a set of private institutional investors. The new facility reaches maturity in 2023 and follows covenant amendments and a revolving credit facility increase of $110M set at the end of last month. Under that
After making a strong debut in Japan last weekend, Sony’s Little Women this session crossed the $100M mark at the international box office. The Greta Gerwig-directed update on the classic tale now has an offshore cume of $101M and a global haul of $209M to date. The current frame was worth $475K from 12 overseas
The UK’s Cinema First has announced that 450 films will be made available for theatrical screenings once movie theaters re-open for business in the coming weeks. The content has been collated by the Film Distributors’ Association with the aim of aiding programmers and cinema operators to choose the widest possible mix of product that will
Regal Entertainment owner Cineworld Group has confirmed it will re-open cinemas in some of its markets during the last week of June, with all theaters expected to be back online during the course of July. Cineworld chief Mooky Greidinger had previously told Deadline he expected a late June/early July start back to operations, while the
Sony’s Oscar winner, Little Women, originally began offshore rollout back in late December 2019, but continued to show off its grit at the international box office this weekend. The Greta Gerwig-directed update on the classic opened in Japan at No. 1 with $495K. In total, currently playing on 440 screens in 13 offshore markets, the
EXCLUSIVE: Some international box office markets that are up and running — even if not at full steam — saw increases this weekend while others faced drops given good weather in some spots and an overall lack of new product. However, Disney floated Kristen Stewart-starrer Underwater into Korea for the first time with a No.
France’s movie theaters will be allowed to re-open from June 22, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe announced this evening. This is earlier than expected, as French Culture Minister Franck Riester said this week that cinemas were eyeing a July 1 re-start. The decision was made in concert with the industry, Philippe said in a televised address,
EXCLUSIVE: It’s all very quiet on the international box office front, but this past weekend saw some decent increases in various markets. Cinemas are still just sputtering back to operations around the world, notably in parts of Europe and Asia. Germany remains the key major driving admissions — and largely from drive-ins, though Vue International’s
As France awaits official updates that are expected to come later this week with regard to the re-opening of restaurants and perhaps fewer restrictions on travel, Culture Minister Franck Riester reiterated today that cinemas are eyeing a July 1 re-start. Speaking to France Info, Riester said the government is mulling dates to re-open cultural venues
What a difference a year — and a pandemic — makes. At this time in 2019, Pokémon Detective Pikachu was the No. 1 movie in 72 markets with a $54M frame at the international box office while John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum took out a took out a $35M hit in 66 and Avengers:
Warner Bros has keyed up a re-release of Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy in Hong Kong and Taiwan, ahead of the mid-July launch of the director’s latest epic, Tenet. The three films — Batman Begins, The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises — will release over several weeks. The first rollout is in Taiwan
France’s movie theaters may be able to re-open at the beginning of July, the country’s Culture Minister Franck Riester said today. A further update is expected at the end of this month, however, Riester told local radio this morning that the government believes a certain number of cinemas may be able to get back to
Italy’s cinemas will get back to business from June 15, the government announced Saturday as it outlined an overall easing of lockdown protocols in what was the initial epicenter of the European continent’s coronavirus outbreak. As with other markets that are beginning to lift restrictions on moviegoing, there will be social distancing measures in place
Germany’s Constantin Film has been awarded the Federal Film Board’s Branchentiger prize for the top local producer and distributor of 2019. This is the 13th consecutive year that the Resident Evil and Perfect Strangers maker has won the award. With it comes 3.1M euros in funding for seven new in-house productions as well as 600K
After initially delaying this year’s CineEurope exhibition convention from June to August in Barcelona, organizers have now decided to scrap the 2020 event altogether. In a note today, Film Expo Group said, “With concern for the health and safety of our attendees as our absolute priority, we regret to inform you that we have decided
Chinese authorities will allow further leisure venues, including cinemas, to gradually re-open now that the coronavirus pandemic has largely been controlled in the country, the top administrative body said on Friday. This comes after movie theaters were shuttered nationwide in January, ultimately dealing a $2.5B+ loss to the box office in just the first quarter.
After German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday outlined plans for the easing of restrictions caused by the coronavirus crisis, the country’s most populous state has said cinemas will now be able to open from May 30. North Rhine-Westphalia, which is home to such major cities as Dusseldorf and Cologne, set guidelines on Wednesday, but noted
As exhibitors in major European markets begin eyeing potential openings at the end of June and through mid-July, some smaller hubs are returning to operation this week, albeit under strict social distancing guidelines and at reduced capacities. Overall, a somewhat clearer picture is beginning to emerge with regard to restarting the business in Europe —
Korea, the world’s fifth largest box office market, is re-opening a portion of its major cinemas this week after a soft-ish shutdown last month. One of the first new titles in the mix will be Universal/DreamWorks Animation’s Trolls World Tour which will play exclusively at the Megabox circuit, the market’s 3rd largest. The animated sequel
China’s Dalian Wanda Group has issued a statement regarding its AMC Entertainment, calling speculation about the chain filing for bankruptcy “pure rumors.” This comes after an S&P Global report last week forecasted AMC’s depletion of cash by mid-summer and its potential inability to re-open by June, and as chatter has swirled about a possible Chapter
A group of 51 European film and audiovisual organizations and individual companies has released a call for action by EU and member state decision makers to safeguard the future of the sector in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. The statement, see it in full below, says the industry requires “urgent financial support now and
France’s National Film Center, the CNC, has taken measures to relax the country’s notoriously strict windows policy during the coronavirus pandemic. A reduction from the traditional four-month delay between theatrical release and DVD or TVOD was earlier granted for all titles that were already in cinemas on March 14, while movies whose release was set
Support measures for exhibitors in Korea were unveiled this week which include seeing them exempted from paying into the national movie development fund, as one of the world’s biggest markets suffers cinema closures and all-time box office lows amid the coronavirus crisis. Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki announced the moves on Wednesday,
Last week, Illumination/Universal’s Minions: The Rise Of Gru stepped off of its global release which was previously set for late June in some offshore markets and for July 3 domestically. It has now been scheduled for July 2, 2021, taking the slot that belonged to Sing 2, which in turn is now headed to Christmas
Editors’ Note: With full acknowledgment of the big-picture implications of a pandemic that has already claimed thousands of lives, cratered global economies and closed international borders, Deadline’s Coping With COVID-19 Crisis series is a forum for those in the entertainment space grappling with myriad consequences of seeing a great industry screech to a halt. The
Some of the last holdouts in Asia are joining the raft of global markets to see cinema closures, even as the picture in China was beginning to look brighter, before taking a turn today. At this point, all major international box office markets (along with domestic) are essentially closed. Even in places where turnstiles are
From Saturday, a first batch of 205 cinemas will re-open for business in Shanghai. This follows last weekend’s opening of 500+ theaters in other China provinces, though Shanghai becomes the first tier one city to turn the lights back on as the coronavirus reportedly abates in the Middle Kingdom. The Shanghai municipal government made the
As the coronavirus reportedly continues to abate in China, film authorities are taking an everything old is new again approach. As of last count there were about 500 movie theaters open in the world’s second biggest box office hub. And as this expands, some of them may soon be playing such favorites as the Avengers