October’s global box office has delivered contrasting results for two major new releases, with “Verity” making a strong debut while “Digger” struggled to find an audience.
ScreenDaily reported that “Verity”, adapted from Colleen Hoover’s bestselling novel, earned an estimated $62.6 million worldwide in its opening weekend. The total comprised $32.6 million in North America and $30 million from 70 international markets.
The Dakota Johnson-led thriller topped the international rankings in 30 markets, with the UK and Ireland, Germany, Brazil and Australia providing its strongest openings. ScreenDaily said several major Asian markets have yet to release the film, including South Korea on Oct 22 and Japan on Nov 6.
The publication also noted that “Verity” has given Hoover adaptations a stronger start than “Reminders Of Him”, while “It Ends With Us” remains the most successful film based on the author’s work.
By contrast, “Digger”, directed by Alejandro G Iñárritu and starring Cruise, has opened with an estimated $20 million worldwide. According to ScreenDaily, the film ranked sixth, earning $12 million from 73 international markets and $8 million in North America.
The film reportedly has a $150 million budget and $100 million marketing spend, with estimated potential losses of $125 million to $150 million.
According to ScreenDaily, new releases from China and India also broke into the global top five. Chinese crime drama “Traces Of Justice”, also known as “Sherlock Of China”, ranked third with $29.5 million, while Indian thriller “Drishyam – The Conclusion” placed fifth with $28.2 million worldwide. Disney, meanwhile, has seen the extended release of ‘Avengers: Endgame’ push the original film’s lifetime global total to $2.925 billion. ScreenDaily highlighted that the figure has taken “Endgame” past “Avatar”, which stands at $2.924 billion.
Furthermore, “Forgotten Island” added $12 million to reach $38.5 million worldwide, with Germany, the UK, Ireland and France still to come.
‘Verity’ leads global box office while ‘Digger’ opens to $20mn
