This weekend’s two major releases, Warner Bros.’ superhero adaptation “The Flash” and Disney’s Pixar adventure “Elemental,” failed to attract international audiences after struggling at the domestic box office.
The international box office debut of “The Flash” brought in $75 million, which doesn’t sound too bad until you consider that the movie is available in 78 markets around the world. This indicates that it failed to reach $1 million in the vast majority of the playable territories. With a meager $13.8 million, China dominated the market, followed by Mexico with $9.4 million, the United Kingdom with $5.3 million, Korea with $3.7 million, and Brazil with $3.5 million.
The road ahead for “Elemental” is even more bleak. The family-friendly film made $15 million in just 17 international markets at its opening, making it a disaster with $44.5 million worldwide. Disney stated in a note to the press that “Elemental” opened in significantly fewer markets and that only three of the countries it has opened in are significant in terms of box office contributions: China ($5.2 million), Korea ($3.2 million), and Australia ($1.1 million). In other locations, the movie is being released in stages to “take advantage of local holidays.”
“Elemental” opened to a disappointing $25.9 million domestically, marking Pixar’s worst opening ever. Similar to “The Flash,” “Elemental” was produced for $200 million and promoted for approximately $100 million. The film was well-received by audiences—at least those who attended its opening weekend—but Disney needs “Elemental” to defy the odds and then some to justify its high prices.
Additionally, Sony’s “Spider-Man: As worldwide ticket sales approached $500 million, “Across the Spider-Verse” continued to perform well. Over the weekend, the animated sequel earned $27.6 million from 60 overseas markets, bringing its worldwide total to $489.3 million and its international total to $209 million.