There weren't any huge titles opening at the box office last weekend, but among the new releases was Johnny English Strikes Again. The third film in the action comedy franchise debuted in North America outside the top 10, earning $1.6 million, albeit from a limited 554 theaters. While that's not particularly impressive, Johnny English Strikes Again is really excelling overseas, where it has quietly made over $100 million.
This past weekend saw Johnny English Strikes Again bring its international box office to $108.6 million, according to Deadline. That's an impressive haul thus far for the Rowan Atkinson film and more than covers its $30 million budget. A big part of the film's box office has naturally come in the United Kingdom, which is really the home market for this film, where it has made $18.2 million so far.
Although its theatrical run is far from over, Johnny English Strikes Again is already Universal's biggest comedy overseas in the past five years. It is also the best performing studio comedy overseas in 2018, proving the popularity of Rowan Atkinson and this character in non-U.S. markets.
That popularity has Johnny English Strikes Again poised to become the biggest film in the series internationally. The new film has already enjoyed several number 1 openings in overseas markets, in many of which it is outperforming its predecessors. The spy spoof series has grossed $431 million worldwide since the original 2003 film, with $393 million of that portion coming from overseas markets.
Johnny English Strikes Again's overseas prospects are made even more encouraging because it will be the first film in the series to get a theatrical release in China. Despite being the first Johnny English film to release in the Middle Kingdom, Rowan Atkinson is very popular in China and he will promote the film there in advance of its late-November release.
In recent years, we have begun to see the increasing importance of foreign box office. Films no longer live and die with domestic box office, and Johnny English Strikes Again is an example of a film that is a big success despite not even cracking the top 10 in North America, earning the huge majority of its returns in other territories.
Part of the reason that Johnny English Strikes Again has been outperforming the other films in the series is because those overseas markets have grown since 2011's Johnny English Reborn. Rowan Atkinson is also a recognizable and popular actor thanks to the previous films in the series, his work as Mr. Bean and his style of comedy, which translates well across language and culture.
Johnny English Strikes Again finds Rowan Atkinson's bumbling secret agent coming out of retirement to track down a hacker after a cyber attack reveals the identities of all the undercover agents in Britain. The film also stars Emma Thompson, Olga Kurylenko, Ben Miller and Jack Lacy, and it is directed by David Kerr.
Johnny English Strikes Again is now playing. Check out our premiere guide for everything else coming to theaters the rest of this year.
