'T4,' 'Angels & Demons' Printing Money Overseas

It turns out that Warner Bros. may have the last laugh after all. Despite weak reviews and rather unspectacular business, Terminator Salvation has been a dominant film in the international box office race. Currently, it's trailing only Angels & Demons on the list of U.S. films overseas, and it's unlikely that anything not named Potter or Transformers will catch the sequel to The Da Vinci Code. Its performance in the foreign markets isn't surprising; Sony made more money on the first Dan Brown movie abroad than it did in the states. But Terminator Salvation is something of a surprise. It has earned more money around the world than it has in America, which is the most lucrative film marketplace. In the U.S., T4 has only made about $115 million (The Hangover has already sold more tickets for Warner Bros.), but internationally, it has picked up over $160 million in business. Perhaps we should have expected this. The three previous films in the series have all done better in foreign countries than they have at home, with Terminator 2, the most successful movie in the franchise, making $315 million in other territories nearly 20 years ago. That was a giant number then. Still, Warner Bros. isn't exactly breathing a sigh of relief. Last year, Jeff Rubinov fretted that Get Smart didn't do as well as the studio wanted it to, even though it tripled its budget in global receipts. For Terminator Salvation to get to that point, it would need to make another $300 million, and it sure won't get very far on what's left of its U.S. ticket sales. But at least it's somewhat salvageable at this point. For Angels & Demons, Sony knew going in that the movie would be competitive in the states but wouldn't be around for the long haul. The foreign audience was exactly what the studio was banking on, and it has returned over $300 million in sales in about a month, which is an astonishing number. The half-billion mark is easily attainable, which looks great unless you compare it to Da Vinci Code's $758 million. However, that's still a better profit margin than most of the year's top ten, and that's a huge part of the game. Based on the returns of Angels & Demons and Terminator, it wouldn't be terribly surprising to see studios focus more intently on the international markets.

Comments

[Will]

Glad you brought up Get Smart...I heard there is actually a sequel on the horizon?

Sad.

[andrew]

what is it with the international audiences? why is it that they support such shit movies? i don't get it.

[Vince]

International markets are always drawn to A. Action flicks or B. Historical Epics, regardless if they suck or not. Why do you think "Alexander" or "Australia" both cleared $100 million easily while the box office in the U.S. disappointed?

It's like how we support crap comedies over here, and films otherwise bomb. Look at the receipts for "Knocked Up" or the aforementioned "Get Smart"- they do well here, but the comedy doesn't translate overseas.

[Krystal]

I thought Sony was doing the international distribution for Terminator Salvation & that Warner Bros. was only doing domestic.

[Chrisj]

Well, i gotta say that this is the first time i would comment on what international moviegoers think of a movie when its makin more money there than in the U.S. As a true Terminator fan i rather enjoyed Terminator Salvation. It might of been PG-13 but it turned out to be entertaining to me when i had my doubts before seeing it. I thought it stayed true to the whole Terminator universe, whatever you wanna call it, especially it staying true to the first two films. I think im the only one with a clear head when it comes to movies , knowing im a picky person on what i watch. Some people think to much about the movie. mostly how many goofs they find etc. but no movie is 100% perfect. As long as the movie entertains me, thats all i care about. I heard people liking a one or two star rated movie and claim it as good as The Dark Knight would be. But, everyone is free to voice their opinion.