Japan release boosts ‘bullet train’ to top of global box office; ‘spider-man: no way home’ returns to top 5

WORLD BOX OFFICE SEPTEMBER 2-4 RANK FILM (DISTRIBUTOR) 3-DAY (WORLD) CUME (WORLD) 3-DAY (INT’L) CUME (INT’L) TERRITORIES  1. _Bullet Train _(Sony)_ _  $15.2m  $195.4m  $9.8m  $109.5m  60  2.

_Minions: The Rise Of Gru _(Universal)  $12.1m  $890.2m  $8.9m  $531.3m  85  3. _Top Gun Maverick _(Paramount)  $11.3m  $1.4bn  $5.8m  $740.4m  44  4. _DC League Of Super Pets _(Warner

Bros)  $9.6m  $159.5m  $4.1m  $78.7m  58  5. _Spider-Man: No Way Home _(Sony)_ _  $8.6m  $1.9bn  $2.6m  $1.1bn  21  6. ___Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero__ _(various)  $6.7m  $78.7m  $2.4m  

$43.8m  41  7. ___Beast _(Universal)  $6m  $45.8m  $2.3m  $20.4m  76  8. _Nope _(Sony)_ _  $5.8m  $159.1m  $4.2m  $39m  79  9. _The Invitation _(Sony)  $5.7m  $17.2m  $1m  $3.5m  11  10.

_Where The Crawdads Sing _(Sony)  $5.6m  $115.2m  $3.7m  $30.3m  5 _Credit: Comscore, click top right to expand. All figures are estimates. _ ‘BULLET TRAIN’ TOPS WORLDWIDE CHART FOR SECOND

TIME The arrival of Sony’s _Bullet Train_ in Japan has seen the darkly comic crime film return to the top of the global box office. _Bullet Train_ – which takes place on a train travelling

from Tokyo to Kyoto and is based on the novel by Kotaro Isaka – grossed $3.0m in Japan over the four-day period beginning last Thursday. Weekend box office across all international markets

was an estimated $9.8m, and in North America an estimated $5.4m, combining to $15.2m worldwide. That number was enough to top the global box office – but it’s the lowest for a Number 1 film

since Comscore introduced the worldwide weekend chart in June 2021. In cumulative totals, _Bullet Train_ has reached $85.9m in North America, $109.5m in international markets, and $195.4m

worldwide. Japan was the last major market to release the film. _Bullet Train_ had been accused of ‘whitewashing’, with Japanese characters from the novel adapted to allow the casting of

actors including Brad Pitt, Joey King, Brian Tyree Henry, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Michael Shannon, Sandra Bullock, Zazie Beetz and Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio aka Bad Bunny. _Bullet Train_

also includes among its cast Japan’s Hiroyuki Sanada and UK-Japanese actor Andrew Koji. Helpfully for Sony, source novel author Isaka defended the international casting. David Leitch

directs, from a screenplay by Zak Olkewicz. ‘SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME’ RERELEASE POWERED BY NORTH AMERICA Sony’s rerelease of _Spider-Man: No Way Home_ in an extended cut – dubbed _The More

Fun Version_ – has seen the blockbuster return to the top of the North America box office, with estimated takings of $6.0m for the three-day weekend, and $7.6m including Monday’s Labor Day

holiday. Like other mature titles (see below), _Spider-Man: No Way Home_ has benefited from Saturday’s National Cinema Day in the US, with tickets just $3 at participating cinemas. The day

saw cinema admissions in the range of 8.0-8.1million (reports vary) – which compares with under 1million admits for the previous day. Sony also rereleased the film in 20 international

markets, grossing an estimated $2.6m. The additional box office takes the global total to $1.91bn, but had no impact on the film’s ranking in the all-time charts, which remains sixth

globally, more than $100m behind fifth-placed _Avengers: Infinity War_. _Spider-Man: No Way Home_ is the biggest film of all time in Mexico, second-biggest in Brazil and Indonesia, third in

North America, fourth in UK/Ireland and fifth in Australia. It is also the highest grossing super-hero movie ever in 19 markets, including UK/Ireland, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Belgium and

Turkey. ‘MINIONS: THE RISE OF GRU’ DIPS TO SECOND PLACE While Universal’s _Minions: The Rise Of Gru _has ceded the global top spot to _Bullet Train_, the Illumination Entertainment animation

is nevertheless performing powerfully for a film now in its 10th week of wide global release. Estimated takings of $12.1m push the global total to $890.2m, comprising $358.9m in North

America and $531.3m for international. The film has been on release for 11 weeks overall, including a week of early release in Australia. Top international market is UK/Ireland with a $52.8m

cumulative total. The film added another estimated $1.2m in the territory at the weekend, boosted by National Cinema Day on Saturday, with tickets priced at £3 – and returning the title to

the box office top spot there. UK/Ireland takings for _The Rise Of Gru _enjoyed a 243% uplift that day compared with the previous Saturday. In Italy, where the film is only in its third week

of release, _The Rise Of Gru _stayed top of the box office (with an estimated $1.3m), despite the arrival last Thursday of competitor animation _DC League Of Super-Pets_. With $11.4m so far

in Italy, the film has more than doubled the lifetime total of the next biggest animation of the pandemic era, _Encanto_. Also for Universal, _Beast_ rises from eighth place to seventh in

the global chart (with estimated weekend takings of $6.0m) and _Nope_ slips from sixth to eighth (with $5.8m). Cumulative global totals are respectively $45.8m and $159.1m. _Beast_ added 15

new markets including India, Hong Kong and Finland. Top markets remain Mexico ($2.6m to date) and UK/Ireland ($2.1m). As for _Nope_, UK/Ireland remains way out in front for international

markets, with $8.4m so far. South Korea and France (both $3.3m) and Australia ($3.1m) come next in the rankings on the title. NATIONAL CINEMA DAY BOOSTS MATURE TITLES In the US, Saturday’s

National Cinema Day proved particularly beneficial to mature titles – suggesting that there had remained an untapped audience that just needed a discount price offer to propel them into

cinemas. Paramount’s _Top Gun: Maverick_ ranked second at North America’s weekend box office (with a $5.5m estimate, and a 17% rise), behind _Spider-Man: No Way Home_. In third place, Warner

Bros’ _DC League Of Super-Pets _saw a 32% rise, with estimated weekend takings of $5.45m. The North American success has impacted the global chart: _Top Gun: Maverick_ rises from fifth to

third place (with an $11.3m estimate), and _DC League Of Super-Pets_ surges from 10th place all the way up to fourth (with $9.55m). Global totals on those two titles are respectively $1.44bn

and $159.5m.