Worldwide box office February 2-4
| Rank | Film (distributor) | 3-day (world) | Cume (world) | 3-day (int’l) | Cume (int’l) | Territories |
| 1. | Yolo (various) | $110.4m | $110.4m | $110.4m | $110.4m | 1 |
| 2. | Pegasus 2 (various) | $104.6m | $104.6m | $104.6m | $104.6m | 3 |
| 3. | Boonie Bears: Time Twist (various) | $60.8m | $60.8m | $60.8m | $60.8m | 1 |
| 4. | Article 20 (various) |
$46.6m | $46.6m | $46.6m | $46.6m | 1 |
| 5. | Argylle (Universal) | $15.9m | $60.1m | $9.4m | $31.3m | 82 |
| 6. | Anyone But You (Sony) | $12.4m | $170.1m | $9.7m | $90m | 51 |
| 7. | Wonka (Warner Bros) | 11.6m | $587.5m | $8.5m | $382.3m | 75 |
| 8. | Migration (Universal) | $9.7m | $235.2m | $6.7m | $125.0m | 80 |
| 9. | The Movie Emperor (various) | $7.9m | $7.9m | $7.9m | $7.9m | 6 |
| 10. | Poor Things (Disney) | $7.7m | $81.2m | $6.6m | $50.9m | 44 |
Credit: Comscore. All figures are estimates.
China wins top four spots in worldwide chart
Strong releases in China for the New Year holiday plus a weak showing in North America thanks to the Super Bowl final have combined to create Chinese dominance in Comscore’s latest worldwide box office chart.
A quartet of Chinese films – YOLO, Pegasus 2, Boonie Bears: Time Twist and Article 20 – nab the top four spots in the chart, pushing Universal’s Argylle down to fifth place. Chinese title The Movie Emperor lands in ninth place, making five in all from China in the top 10 chart.
Directed by and starring Jia Ling, drama YOLO, aka You Only Live Once, is adapted from the 2014 Japanese film 100 Yen Love, and stars Jia as a woman in her 30s with few prospects, who still lives with her parents – until she meets a boxing coach who impacts her life.
Just below YOLO in the box office chart is the sequel to Han Han’s 2019 car-racing comedy Pegasus. Shen Teng returns from the original film, and Pegasus 2 tells the story of a former rally champion, now down on his luck, who finds new partners to participate in a rally race.
YOLO and Pegasus 2 both grossed more than $100m at the weekend (see chart), and this was from Saturday and Sunday only. The holiday began on Saturday (February 10) – ushering in the Year of the Dragon – and begins this year’s Spring Festival.
In third place, Boonie Bears: Time Twist is the 10th in the animated film franchise, which itself grew out of a popular children’s TV series that first aired in 2012. First film in the series Boonie Bears: To The Rescue was released in 2014, and sequels have come thick and fast. Highest-grossing so far is ninth entry Boonie Bears: Guardian Code, which reached $220m in 2023. Time Twist grossed $60.8m in its first two days.
In fourth place is Zhang Yimou’s legal drama Article 20, debuting with $46.6m. Rounding out the China pack is Ning Hao’s satirical comedy The Movie Emperor, which premiered last September at Toronto International Film Festival. Andy Lau stars as a has-been Hong Kong film star who is set to make a big-screen comeback playing a Chinese peasant farmer in a 1960s-set drama. To prepare for his role, he goes to experience rural life in mainland China. The Movie Emperor debuted in China and a few other Asian markets with $7.9m.
In total, Chinese New Year releases earned $350m in two days. In 2023, films released for Chinese New Year collectively grossed over $1bn over the full holiday period, led by Zhang Yimou’s Full River Red and sci-fi sequel The Wandering Earth II.
‘Argylle’ falls by more than 50% globally
With the Super Bowl in its traditional slot – second Sunday of February – the film release calendar offered fairly feeble competition to titles already in cinemas in North America. Matthew Vaughn’s Argylle – released by Universal on behalf of Apple Original Films and Marv Studios – held on to the domestic top spot with an estimated $6.5m, down 63% from the opening session.
For international, Argylle grossed an estimated $9.4m, down 46% in holdover markets. The film opened in South Korea with an estimated $520,000, and also in a couple of smaller markets.
After two weekends of play, Argylle has reached $28.8m in North America and $31.3m for international, adding up to $60.1m worldwide.
Top international market is Vaughn’s home territory UK/Ireland with $4.7m, ahead of Australia ($2.8m) and then France and Mexico (both $2.6m).
With a production budget reported at $200m or more, Argylle has a very long way to go to achieve profitability, especially after studio marketing costs and box office revenue splits with cinemas are factored in.
‘Anyone But You’ overtakes ‘Ticket To Paradise’
Sony’s Anyone But You added another $12.4m globally for the weekend period, taking the total so far to $170.1m. The weekend saw the film overtake Universal’s 2022 romantic comedy Ticket To Paradise, which reached $168.8m lifetime.
Sony might now claim bragging rights as the top US romcom of the pandemic era, but there is also the more action-flavoured The Lost City – starring Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum – to consider. The romantic action comedy grossed $192.9m worldwide in 2022.
Australia, where Anyone But You is largely set, continues to lead among international markets with $13.7m so far, ahead of UK/Ireland ($12.6m) and Germany ($10.3m).
Sony will be giving the film another push this week to capitalise on Wednesday’s Valentine’s Day (February 14).
‘The Zone Of Interest’ passes $10m barrier
A24’s The Zone Of Interest achieved a decent hold at the North American box office, dipping 32% and adding an estimated $773,000 from 598 sites. Domestic total is $6.0m. Prior to the weekend, Jonathan Glazer’s Auschwitz drama had reached $4.6m in international markets, which means that the film has now pushed past $10m worldwide.
The Zone Of Interest topped the French box office last week, beating fellow new release Argylle, with a five-day $1.6m for local distributor Bac Films. In UK and Ireland (via A24), it opened with $750,000 including previews. Netherlands (via Cineart) saw the film open with a strong $368,000, and in Greece, where Glazer’s film landed in December via distributor Spentzos, the total stood at nearly $350,000 last week. Totals last week in Spain (via Elastica) and Denmark (via SF Studios) were respectively $711,000 and $381,000.
International reporting on the film lags behind US studio releases, for which weekend estimates are made available.
Glazer’s last film Under The Skin reached $7.5m worldwide in 2013, according to Box Office Mojo. In 2004, his Birth, starring Nicole Kidman, reached $23.9m.
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