SUNDAY UPDATE: New Line’s It Chapter Two slotted the second best global opening for a horror film of all-time with $185M, right behind 2017’s It which debuted to $189.7M. This was a similar case for the $79M production stateside where the Andy Muschietti-directed sequel notched the second best opening for both a horror pic and September release. Chapter Two is expected to be profitable like the first film, but less than its near $300M after ancillaries.

With $94m from 25,945 screens, Chapter Two led all films at the overseas B.O.

Chapter Two screamed the biggest horror opening ever in 16 markets including Russia (and the entire Eastern Europe region), UAE, Holland, Norway, Finland and Argentina. It was also Warners’ best opening for the year in 37 markets including UK, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Denmark, Argentina, Mexico and Australia. Other highlights: Pic was No. 1 in Europe and the biggest WB opening weekend for the region year to date, and Chapter Two was No. 1 in Asia, besting It by 10%. Chapter Two also took the top spot in Latin America region and was, ditto, the biggest for Warners YTD.

Country spotlights:

Mexico with $10.2M at 4,571 screens, dominating with a 76% share of the Top 5 films.

UK grossed $9.4m at 1,998 screens, for 72% share of the Top 5 films and coming in as the 2nd biggest opening weekend ever for a horror film (behind It).

Russia grossed $8.8M on 3,215 screens and dominated the market with 84% marketshare of the top 5 pics.

Germany made $7.1M at 890 screens, repping a 59% share of the Top 5 Films and ranking as the 2nd biggest horror opening weekend ever, only surpassed by It.

Italy: $5.5m on 840 screens, for 50% share of the Top 5 films and and the 2nd biggest opening weekend for horror pic behind It.

Brazil did $4.6m on 2,023 screens with a 63% share of the Top 5 Films.

Australia grossed $4.4M at 501 screens, repping a 60% share of the Top 5 Films, also the 2nd biggest opening weekend for a horror pic. Other openings include Spain ($3.2M on 737 screens), South Korea (also $3.2M but on 998 — a typhoon hit the country on Saturday, causing power outages and impacting the film industry’s overall Saturday box office), Indonesia ($2.7M on 930), and Argentina ($1.4M at 465). Pennywise haunts France on Sept. 11 and Japan on Nov. 1.

Other overseas notables: Hobbs & Shaw drove another $15M out of 69 markets taking foreign to $555.5M and the pic’s global odometer to $719M. Twenty-six percent of that grand total comes from China or $184M.

Sony’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood made $13M from 59 markets for a running offshore total of $176.2M. Global is at $310M, and is poised to groove past Inglorious Basterds ($321M) as Quentin Tarantino’s second highest grossing pic WW behind Django Unchained ($425M). Pic’s best markets to date are UK ($22.6M), France ($17.9M), Russia ($17.7M) and Germany ($15.2M).

Disney’s The Lion King roared $13.4M from 50 territories bringing its running offshore total to $1.07B, $1.6B worldwide. Highest markets to date include China ($120M), UK ($90M), and France ($78M).

SATURDAY UPDATE: Now open in 75 offshore markets, New Line/Warner Bros’ It Chapter Two has grossed $39M through Friday. This is after Thursday set horror opening records in some key hubs (see previous story below), and yesterday added $22.3M on about 25K screens. The international box office weekend is still aiming at around $100M.

The Andy Muschietti-directed sequel took No. 1 positions in its major Friday bows, including the UK, Mexico and Spain. It continues to hold the top spot for a U.S. film in all markets (though in Korea on Saturday, the movie dipped to No. 2 behind a local title — the day’s locally estimated take was $820K which is not included in the running tally above; cume through Friday was $1.25M).

In the UK on Friday, Pennywise pounded $3M from 1,998 screens and took a 78% share of the Top 5 movies. This is the 2nd best horror bow of all time, surpassed only by the first It. As with several other markets, Chapter Two marked the biggest opening day for a Warner Bros film this year. The full total to date, including sneaks, is $3.6M. The UK was ultimately the lead hub on the previous film, followed by Germany, France, Mexico and Brazil (France is not opening until September 11).

Mexico made $2.5M from 3,360 screens and had a 76% share of the Top 5 on Friday. Again, the biggest WB launch day of 2019. Including sneaks there, the cume is $3.4M.

Spain pitched in $1.1M on 737 screens with a 69% share of the Top 5. Also the best WB start this year and the 2nd best ever for a horror title. Cume is $1.4M.

In Sweden, Chapter Two booked $509K on 220 screens, roughly on par with the previous movie and by far WB’s best first day of the year. The running tally is $614K.

Holdovers were led by Russia on Friday with a 91% share of the Top 5 and another $1.9M to lift the total so far to $4M.

Germany held. No. 1 on Friday and has now amassed $3.2M. Italy’s second day kept It2 in the top spot for a cume of $2.8M.

The movie also continues to dominate in Australia with a $2M cume through Friday. And, Brazil is now at $1.6M after two days.

We’ll have a full report on Sunday.

PREVIOUS, FRIDAY: New Line/Warner Bros’ It Chapter Two has begun its reign of terror at the international box office with $16.5M from 48 markets through Thursday. The Andy Muschietti-directed sequel landed No. 1 in all debuts and set records for a horror opening in both Russia and Italy, notably, topping the 2017 predecessor.

Pre-weekend projections on the debut frame were in the $100M-$110M range. Landing within that certainly looks likely, though more will become clear once numbers for Friday’s 27 additional opening markets are posted. They include the UK, Spain and Mexico.

The best offshore comp for Chapter Two is the previous title. It opened No. 1 in virtually all markets in 2017 and broke records on the first day out in a number of plays. That film, which was on a staggered release, bowed to $95M in like-for-likes at today’s rates. The final unadjusted overseas tally was $375M.

The first film ultimately did best in the UK, Germany, France, Mexico and Brazil (France, along with Japan, is not in this weekend’s opening suite on Chapter Two). Horror indexes in Latin America and Europe, with Southeast Asia likely to provide some extra muscle this time around. Korea, which opened It Chapter Two on Wednesday, is leading the market with $1.25M through Friday (not fully included in the offshore total above).

In Thursday openers, Russia led all play at $2.1M on 3,215 screens: the best opening day ever for a horror movie (topping It) and WB’s best of 2019. Italy also scored a record horror bow with $1.6M from 840 screens.

Germany grossed $1.1M on 681 with a 64% share of the Top 5 films and tracking as the second biggest opening day ever for a horror film, only behind the first installment (which opened on a holiday). Including previews, the running cume there is $1.5M.

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Australia gave Pennywise a 75% share of the Top 5 on Thursday with $625K from 501 screens. This is the second biggest opening day ever for a horror film, also only behind It.

Brazil bowed with $555K on 2,022 screens, coming in as WB’s best start of 2019. Including previews, the cume to date is $817K.

We’ll be back with more from the scary clown throughout the weekend.