Roland Emmerich’s latest disaster feature for Sony, “2012”, sweeps the globe with $225 million in its opening weekend. The film evoked $65 million from the local box office but wrecked more destruction overseas earning $160 million in ticket sales.
Opening in a total of 105 territories internationally, “2012” opened at number one. The massive earnings had the highest contributions from France with $17.2 million, Russia at $15.3 million, Germany at $12.4 million, China with $12.3 million and the U.K. with $10.8 million.
Emmerich’s film had officialy earned its place along the lines of the four top international launches: “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” ($236 million), “Spider-Man 3” ($231 million), “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End” ($216 million) and “Harry Potter and Order of the Phoenix” ($193 million). “2012” pushed “Da Vinci Code” ($155 million) from the spot to earn its place. The film now holds the fifth best international opening of all time as well as the best foreign launch for a non-sequel.
“2012” served as a boost for Emmerich after his previous “10,000 BC” film failed to achieve the $100 million mark at the local box office only coming off with $94.8 million. Like the success of “2012” overseas, “10,000 BC” garnered more business internationally earning $175 million in sales. Emmerich’s films seem to appear more to the international audience.
In the U.S. fans of “2012” were reportedly slightly older as 55% of the audience were estimated to be over 25 years of age and more commonly 52% were female.
For Sony, this is their second box-office victory in a row after Michael Jackson’s “This Is It” earning $222.6 million worldwide. They badly needed a big opening for “2012” since the film cost a massive $200 million to produce along with hefty marketing costs.
Rory Bruer, representative of Sony for worldwide distribution expresses his praise to Emmerich’s work saying, “The opening number says that Roland Emmerich is an incredible filmmaker whose work resonates everywhere. He has truly set a new bar with this film in regards to the amazing images and special effects, as well as the story.”
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