The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel passes $70m internationally

After charming its way to over $31m in the UK, Fox’s “pensioners’ powerhouse” The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel passed the $70m mark internationally last week and stands at $72.8m, before opening impressively on a $27,298 average from its 27 sites in the US this past weekend.

With the exception of France (where it opens on May 9 to take advantage of some national holidays), The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel opened in every major market overseas before the US and, as expected, has seen strong returns in the UK, Australia and New Zealand ($3.8m).

The distributor expects that these three territories should provide around 70% of its overall international gross. Behind the UK, where it has undoubtedly reaped the rewards of appealing to a little-served audience, Australia is its second biggest territory where it is closing in on $20m and stands at $19.7m in its seventh week.

By comparison, Calendar Girls saw just over 60% of its international tally come from these three territories, and The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel has taken more than double what Calendar Girls achieved in Australia.

Outside of its English-speaking territories – where Fox released wide straight away – the film has received more of a staggered release, gaining prints along the way. It has resulted in strong showings in Germany ($5.1m) and Spain ($4.1m).

Whether an English-speaking territory or not, the film’s success has been built on strong word of mouth, allowing it to appeal to audiences outside of its older-skewed core audience resulting in impressive openings as well as strong midweek performances.

Alongside France on May 9, other international openings for The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel include Brazil on May 11, with releases in Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan scheduled for mid-May.

All figures up to date as of April 6

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