As battles go they do not get much bigger than the fantasy armies of Middle Earth against dinosaurs, leading box office observers to forecast a mighty international session this weekend as The Hobbit 2 bears down on $200m by Saturday.
Warner Bros, New Line and MGM’s The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug had raced to more than $180m by the morning of December 20 and was the favourite to rule them all in its second session, despite what could be a strong challenge from the BBC’s Walking With Dinosaurs.
By Saturday (21) Peter Jackson’s Smaug will soar past $200m through Warner Bros Pictures International and $300m worldwide en route to what insiders expect to be another significant haul.
Factoring in the $91m-plus North American running total, the early global tally stands at more than $271m. Warner Bros’ Gravity has reached $393.8m.
Fox International launches BBC Earth and Reliance Entertainment’s family 3D film Walking With Dinosaurs in more than 33 territories including the UK, Russia, France, Mexico, Japan, South Korea and Sweden.
LA-based IM Global launched pre-sales at AFM 2010 when it cut the biggest deal of the market with Fox for a slew of international and US rights.
Constantin will release Walking With Dinosaurs in Germany, Aurum in Spain, Dutch FilmWorks in Benelux and Alliance in Canada. Reliance will distribute in India.
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International executives reported that the animation Frozen has reached $114.3m and arrives this weekend in Mexico, Italy and Hong Kong.
Thor: The Dark World stands at $424.1m and is set to open in its final market of Japan on February 1 2014. Disney will cease reporting on the title until then.
Paramount Pictures International staff have lined up several day-and-date releases for the Will Ferrell comedy Anchorman 2 in the UK, Australia and Sweden.
Sony’s Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs 2 arrives in Spain and has grossed $110.3m. Captain Phillips stands at $103m and Carrie $43.7m including MGM territories.
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