The Receipts: 'Avatar' Re-Re-Release Takes Back Throne For Highest-Grossing Film Ever; 'Ponniyin Selvan: I' Is the First South Indian Film To Debut In IMAX; 'Lou' Dominates Netflix This Week
Domestic: James Cameron’s Avatar has been re-released again this past month and has surpassed many new features at the box office, globally earning $60.39 million. Domestically, the film opened with $10.52 million. The film was originally released in 2009 and starred Zoe Saldana and Sam Worthington who played a paraplegic marine traveling to the moon Pandora, where he must choose between colonizing or protecting the Na’vi natives. With its third release, Avatar has now taken back the throne for the highest-grossing film of all time at a total gross of $2.91 billion.
Lagging behind the sci-fi blockbuster is The Woman King. It earned $6.82 million this past weekend at the start of October and has risen to a worldwide gross of $51.7 million. It stars Viola Davis as the leader of the ferocious military of the Kingdom of Dahomey in 19th-century Africa. The film was produced with a budget of $50 million and has just now made its money back after nearly a month at the box office.
As the Halloween season progresses, so does the horror film Barbarian’s earnings. It stars Georgina Campbell and Bill Skarsgård as two renters trapped in a sinister home with overlapping bookings. This weekend it grossed $2.82 million domestically, bringing it up to $35.7 million worldwide. Built upon a $10 million budget, the film has steadily grown into a box-office success.
International: Tamil film Ponniyin Selvan:I debuted this weekend. The story is based upon the epic novel of the same title and follows the Crown Prince Aditha Karikalan’s messenger, Vandiyathevan, and his journey across the Chola land amidst plots to steal the throne and an ominous comet’s rapid descent upon Earth. Working with a budget of $60.5 million, the film earned $15.7 million in India with a total worldwide gross of $39.5 million. The film is the first Tamil movie to be released in IMAX and was also sold to Amazon for $15.1 million, allowing it to roll out on the streaming service worldwide similarly to Tamil blockbuster RRR on Netflix.
From South Korea, the action-adventure film Confidential Assignment 2: International continues to sore high with a worldwide gross of $43.9 million. The story follows Rim Chul Ryung who returns to South Korea to hunt down a secret criminal organization. Distributed by Walt Disney and produced on a $12.6 million dollar budget, the film is a certified blockbuster.
Japan’s One Piece Film: Red continues to dominate internationally. The story follows Uta, the world’s greatest singer planning to reveal her secret identity at a concert that Luffy and the Straw Hat Pirates plan to attend. This is the anime series’ fifteenth feature and has now grossed over $120 million worldwide, earning $2.36 million this past weekend.
Streaming: Netflix’s Lou starring Jurnee Smollett and Allison Janney is number 1 this week with over 46 million hours viewed. The story follows a loner living in the woods with a dark past who is uprooted into a rescue mission when her neighbor’s daughter is kidnapped.
Globally, the number 2 Netflix TV show is Thai Cave Rescue: Limited Series. The series is based on true events when a young soccer team is trapped in a cave which led to a global rescue effort. It was streamed for over 21 million hours. The 3rd leading international TV series on the streaming platform is El Rey, Vicente Fernãndez. The story is a biopic of the legendary Mexican music icon’s humble beginnings. It was streamed for 20 million hours.
