Daniel Radcliffe in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Jaap Buitendijk / Warner Bros.) (top); Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart, Taylor Lautner in The Twilight Saga: New Moon (Kimberley French / Summit Entertainment)
What were the biggest international box-office hits of 2009? Below are a couple of samples:
David Yates' Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, starring Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson, had the highest-grossing international five-day opening weekend ever, with $236 million. The latest edition of the franchise based on J.K. Rowling's fantasy novels went on to earn $627.4m in the international market. (That's the world minus the US and Canada.)
The Twilight Saga: New Moon, starring Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart, and Taylor Lautner, has earned an astounding $34.6 million in France / Monaco / Algeria / Morocco / Tunisia (I'm not quite sure why France is lumped together with three of its former North African colonies). In Germany, the romantic fantasy has grossed $30.3 million; in Italy, $23.8 million; and in Spain, $27.8 million. (All figures up to Dec. 13.) During its first three weeks overseas, New Moon amassed a total of more than $320 million.
Here are a few more overseas hits:
- Carlos Saldanha's Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs made $682.2m
- Pete Docter's animated feature Up, which will surely be up for an Academy Award early next year, has thus far grossed $390.5m
- Roland Emmerich's 2012, starring John Cusack and a ton of special effects, has grossed $519.3m
- Starring Noomi Rapace, Niels Arden Oplev's thriller The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, the first of a trilogy of films produced by Nordisk, has thus far made $87.9m — a remarkable figure for a non-Hollywood production
- Danny Boyle's Oscar winner Slumdog Millionaire made $225.1m
According to a Dec. 17 Screen International piece, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is the biggest worldwide blockbuster released in 2009, with a $929.4m total gross up to Dec. 6. Yet, the chart can't be considered exactly "fair" in regard to a film's overall performance; after all, late '09 releases such as New Moon and 2012 will still be playing around the globe throughout a good portion of 2010.
Other sources: Box Office Mojo, Screen International
Im so glad to see HBP do so well!!!! It is still the largest franchise and 'fandom'in the world!Congrats to Jo and the actors! They deserve a job well done…as for the highest grossing film of 2010 i do believe it will be the long await climax and ending to the phenomenon of Harry Potter…The Deathly Hallows!
new moon will be the biggest film of 2010 after avatar