EXCLUSIVE: With today’s business included, Universal Pictures is crossing the $3B mark at the global box office for 2022 so far, becoming the first studio to reach the milestone since 2019. The grosses broken out to date are $1.74B at the international box office and $1.281B domestically. This is the eighth time Uni has topped $3B worldwide.
Leading the studio’s biggest releases this year, Jurassic World Dominion is currently at $974.5M global ($601.4M overseas/$373.1M domestic). The Chris Pratt/Bryce Dallas Howard-starrer is the No. 2 highest grossing movie of the year worldwide and is one of only eight Hollywood films to cross $500M global during the pandemic. For 2022, it’s one of only four studio movies to get there alongside Top Gun: Maverick, Doctor Strange 2 and The Batman.
JWD also just wrapped its run in China where it is the biggest import of the year with a final cume of $157.6M (overall, Uni titles account for five of the Top 10 imported films in the market during the pandemic: F9, JWD, No Time To Die, The Croods: A New Age, The Bad Guys). In Latin America, it’s the 4th highest grossing film since the pandemic hit and Universal’s 4th highest grossing film of all time at today’s exchange rates.
Meanwhile, Minions: The Rise Of Gru has now grossed $790.4M globally, including $446.7M offshore and $343.7M from domestic. The Illumination title is already the biggest animated film of the pandemic and is headed to China this coming weekend.
The origins story went wide in July and gave eight markets the biggest animated opening weekend ever, while 52 markets had the biggest animated launches of the pandemic. In Latin America, the film is the third highest grossing picture since the pandemic started, and at today’s dollars it’s the second biggest animated film of all time. Also last month, it became the first animated movie to top $300M domestically during the pandemic and pushed the Despicable Me franchise across the $4B mark globally.
Other highlights of the year so far also include DreamWorks Animation’s The Bad Guys with a global cume of $246.8M ($150.1M offshore/$96.7M domestic). Opening No. 1 in North America in April, the toon stayed in the Top 10 for more than 10 weeks. In China, it had a terrific run at No. 1 for three weeks and was within the Top 5 for nine weeks, ultimately grossing $50M to be the biggest animated picture of the year in the market.
Still in release, Uni has Blumhouse’s The Black Phone at $152.7M global. It’s the biggest non-sequel horror title of the pandemic, the top horror film of 2022 internationally and globally, and Blumhouse’s third biggest non-sequel film of all-time behind Get Out and Paranormal Activity.
Just making its overseas debut this weekend, Jordan Peele’s Nope picked up $6.4M in 19 markets, including a No. 1 start in the UK where it’s the director’s widest release ever. Domestically, it has grossed over $100M to make Peele the only live-action writer/director to have their first three original films hit the mark. Globally, the sci-fi thriller has grossed $113.9M through Sunday.
Among movies up ahead for Uni this year are Idris Elba-starrer Beast, Billy Eichner comedy Bros, Focus’ Tar and Armageddon Time, Blumhouse’s Halloween Ends, Julia Roberts/George Clooney romcom Ticket To Paradise, NYT MeToo investigation drama She Said, Steven Spielberg’s The Fablemans and DWA’s Puss In Boots: The Last Wish.