MOVIEGOERS in the US, the world’s largest film market, will have to wait to see the first major Hollywood release since the March shutdown, one that has already won the top-grossing spot among international audiences.

The time-travel thriller Tenet was the biggest picture globally, taking in $53 million this weekend across 41 international markets. But the film won’t appear until next week in the US, where Walt Disney Co.’s New Mutants debuted as No. 1 at the domestic box office this weekend.

The strong number for Tenet shows that moviegoers overseas have become more comfortable to return to theaters. The Christopher Nolan-directed Warner Bros. movie delayed its US debut until Sept. 3 in response to the country’s relatively slow recovery from the pandemic. The studio took the unusual move of releasing it outside the US first and plans to keep it in theaters longer than the usual two or three months.

As the biggest draw domestically, the long-delayed — and critically panned — New Mutants generated $7 million in US ticket sales and $9.9 million globally, researcher Comscore, Inc. said Sunday.

The New Mutants debut marked one of the lowest-ever box-office takes for a major Disney film. But measures of success have changed in the coronavirus era, especially with theaters in New York and California mostly still closed. Last week’s No. 1 film, the independent studio release Unhinged, took in only $4 million in North America.

SLOW REOPENING
The improving box-office performance partly reflects a wider swath of theaters being open again. Almost 50% of all locations in the US and Canada had reopened as of this weekend, up from one-third as of last weekend.

But it also shows moviegoers responding to the theaters’ more-frequent cleaning and other steps. Owners have had to limit ticket sales to adhere to social-distancing rules, slowing any recovery. Movies that opened in international markets did better than those only in the US.

Little Women, a film by Columbia Pictures and actress Greta Gerwig that premiered back in December, raised its cumulative global ticket sales this weekend to $216.6 million, with international audiences contributing half of the sales.

DISNEY STRATEGIES
Disney’s strategy for its films this year shows what an odd time it is for the movie business. The New Mutants, which follows a group of extraordinary teens, is opening exclusively in theaters. But next week, Disney will release its highly awaited live-action film Mulan on the Disney+ streaming service for $30.

While most potential blockbusters have been delayed, studios are using the pandemic to test new distribution models. Universal Pictures’ Trolls World Tour was released online and performed well with at-home audiences.

This weekend, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer opted to release Bill & Ted Face the Music on demand and in some theaters. Alamo Drafthouse offered guests free showings of the movie earlier this week, as part of its reopening plans. The film, produced at a cost of $25 million, generated $1.06 million in ticket sales this weekend, Comscore said. — Bloomberg

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