Those are some serious numbers for a sequel so be prepared for a very nice launch for JOURNEY 2: THE MYSTERIOUS ISLAND when it lands in North America on February 10!The sequel starring Dwayne Johnson this time around rather than Brendan Frasier has already claimed $26.5 million in only 8 markets. Don't forget about Josh Hutcherson who seems to be heating up his commodity lately, especially with THE HUNGER GAMES posed to explode this year.
Given the strength of the original's strong international clout it was just about a no-brainer for Warner Bros. to launch internationally first and it is becoming more and more prevalent as an opening gambit for studios.
From THR: Journey 2 opened nearly three weeks ago in Hong Kong, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan, where the Chinese New Year holiday makes for prime moviegoing. It also opened in Australia and New Zealand, where there are school holidays. The sequel has earned $6.6 million in Korea, followed by $5.6 million in Australia, where Fast Five -- also starring Johnson -- did massive business.
I find the success overseas to be very interesting. Certainly because the movies are based on classic Jules Verne tales it helps, but it seems that there were no repercussions to using Johnson instead of Frasier which is surprising me. Perhaps The Rock's star is bigger than I thought!
Source: THR