‘Springsteen’ Fizzles Overseas, ‘Black Phone 2’ Hits $80 Million
Bruce Springsteen is one of music’s biggest names, but his global popularity didn’t exactly translate at the box office.
“Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere,” a musical biopic about the making of his beloved 1982 acoustic solo album “Nebraska,” is falling flat with $7 million at the international box office and $16.1 million globally. Analysts suggest the film is struggling because unlike, say, “Bohemian Rhapsody” and “Rocketman,” which were all-encompassing, crowd-pleasing looks at the Queen and Elton John, “Deliver Me From Nowhere” focuses on one, less commercial chapter in Springsteen’s expansive, decade-spanning career.
Disney’s 20th Century Studios is backing the $55 million-budgeted film, which stars Jeremy Allen White as the Boss and was directed by Scott Cooper. Top markets in its debut include the United Kingdom with $1.6 million, Germany with $1 million and Italy with $800,000. “Deliver Me From Nowhere” has yet to open in 20% of overseas territories such as Brazil, Japan and Korea.
On international charts, “Springsteen” arrived behind Paramount’s romantic drama “Regretting You.” The PG-13 film, adapted from Colleen Hoover’s best-selling novel, launched with $10 million from 43 markets. The film overperformed in North America with $12.8 million, bringing its three-day global tally to $22.85 million. “Regretting You,” starring Allison Williams and Mckenna Grace as a mother and daughter who grapple with the aftermath of a devastating accident, is Hoover’s second page-to-screen adaptation following 2024’s surprise hit “It Ends With Us.” Two of the author’s other books, “Verity” and “Reminders of Him,” are the subject of feature films at Amazon MGM and Universal.
Meanwhile, “Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc” continued to dominate at the international box office, adding $14.7 million while expanding to 46 total markets. The R-rated film, a sequel to the popular manga TV series, has been playing in Japan and other Asian countries for weeks and notably just surpassed the $100 million mark. “Chainsaw Man” topped the North American box office this weekend with $17.2 million and has so far earned $108 million worldwide. It’s the second consecutive win for Sony’s Crunchyroll following September’s sleeper hit “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle,” which stands as the highest grossing anime film of all time with $666.8 million globally.
In another milestone, “Black Phone 2” is a commercial winner for Blumhouse after a rough theatrical year for the low-budget horror empire. The scary sequel added $10 million overseas in its second weekend of release, bringing ticket sales to $31.3 million internationally and $80.4 million globally. Universal distributed the film, which cost $30 million. “Black Phone 2? easily became Blumhouse’s highest-grossing release of the year because its other recent releases — January’s “Wolf Man” ($34 million), March’s “The Woman in the Yard” ($23 million), April’s “Drop” ($28 million), and June’s “M3GAN 2.0” ($39 million ) — flatlined in theaters. This December’s sequel, “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2,” should also help to restore the company’s fortunes.
Elsewhere, Disney’s sci-fi tentpole “Tron: Ares” collected $6.3 million from 52 territories in its third weekend in theaters. So far, the big-budget sequel has grossed $60 million overseas and $123.4 million globally, a disappointing tally given its massive $180 million price tag.
