Indie international box office hits $1.2bn in 2014

IM Global delivered $207.2m in the year, while QED International and Foresight Unlimited both reported more than $150m and Sierra/Affinity and The Weinstein Company delivered more than $130m apiece.

FilmNation crossed $100m for the fourth consecutive year as the company’s total international box office crossed the $1bn threshold.

IM Global’s $207.1m score featured Walking With Dinosaurs on $62.9m, Women Who Flirt on $37.7m, Love On The Cloud on $25.4m and A Haunted House 2 on $8.3m.

The overall tally of films that the company either licensed internationally or partnered on rises to $411.6m when the $188.2m Chinese haul of Breakup Buddies is factored in alongside Holiday’s $16.2m tally in India via Reliance.

QED International titles generated more than $155.7m internationally. Fury (pictured) led the way on $101.5m outside North America and the number includes those territories where QED, which fully financed the film, licensed rights to Sony.

Fading Gigolo amassed $22m, That Awkward Moment $21.3m and Sabotage $10.8m.

Films licensed internationally through Foresight Unlimited generated $155.5m in 2014, with 2 Guns emerging on top with $64m. Next best was Lone Survivor on $36m, followed by And So It Goes on $15.5m.

Sierra / Affinity titles amassed $132.5m led by I, Frankenstein on $50.8m. Ender’s Game was next on $31.4m, followed by Oculus on $17.9m, Nightcrawler on $15.1m, Walk Of Shame on $9.3m, Kill The Messenger on $2.6m and Whiplash on $1.8m.

Executives at The Weinstein Company’s international division said grosses reached $130.9m.

The key drivers in 2014 were The Nut Job on $45.9m, August: Osage County on $34.7m, The Giver on $22m, St. Vincent on $6.7m and One Chance on $4.6m.

FilmNation’s international licensees drove box office for the company’s titles to $119.5m last year, led by Magic In The Moonlight on $37.6m.

The Imitation Game, which is in the early stages of a highly promising international roll-out, delivered $23.3m in 2014 from the UK and Norway alone, while A Most Wanted Man produced $19.8m.

Annapurna International reported $112.9m, of which $86.5m came from American Hustle in 2014 including $22.6m in the UK and more than $12m in Australia. Her grossed $26.4m.

Films licensed by Bloom, which includes projects that company co-founder Alex Walton brought over from Exclusive Media, generated $102.2m.

Begin Again was the top earner on $48.4m, followed by A Walk Among The Tombstones on $35.9m, The Quiet Ones on $9.8m and $6.1m from the 2014 portion of Rush’s run.

The Expendables 3 grossed more than $166.9m internationally through Nu Image, whose overall grosses for the year were unavailable.

Commenting on the strong showing IFTA chairperson Paul Hertzberg said: “Box office was slightly down around the world but good movies perform – it’s the same every year.

“The market is there but it’s a little more difficult to find your way through all the movies that are out there and maintain your screens every week, so you’ve got to perform in the first weekend and hold.

“For the most part the market was solid. If you can control your production costs then you’ve got a shot.”