Worldwide Blockbusters That Lack Domestic Appeal
These select movies accomplished what few films ever have; they became international hits with relatively meager box office contributions from American and Canadian moviegoers. Despite wide domestic theater releases (700+), all accumulated 25% or less of their total worldwide box office from North American audiences. In spite of this, all of these films raked in at least $250 million in worldwide ticket sales. By comparison, most blockbusters typically in the past got a kick start of about 35-55% of their worldwide gross from North American moviegoers alone. Source: Box Office Mojo
Which of these selected worldwide blockbusters* with more appeal to global audiences than North American ticket buyers is the best one? * limit one answer slot per franchise, 100,000+ IMDb votes
Discuss the topic here.
Which of these selected worldwide blockbusters* with more appeal to global audiences than North American ticket buyers is the best one? * limit one answer slot per franchise, 100,000+ IMDb votes
Discuss the topic here.
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- DirectorJames WanStarsVin DieselPaul WalkerDwayne JohnsonDeckard Shaw seeks revenge against Dominic Toretto and his family for his comatose brother.Furious 7 (2015): 23.3% North American Gross/Worldwide Total Gross
The Fate of the Furious (2017): 18.2% North American Gross/Worldwide Total Gross
F9: The Fast Saga (2021): 23.8% North American Gross/Worldwide Total Gross - DirectorHayao MiyazakiStarsDaveigh ChaseSuzanne PleshetteMiyu IrinoDuring her family's move to the suburbs, a sullen 10-year-old girl wanders into a world ruled by gods, witches and spirits, and where humans are changed into beasts.
- DirectorSam MendesStarsDaniel CraigChristoph WaltzLéa SeydouxA cryptic message from James Bond's past sends him on a trail to uncover the existence of a sinister organisation named SPECTRE. With a new threat dawning, Bond learns the terrible truth about the author of all his pain in his most recent missions.
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsTye SheridanOlivia CookeBen MendelsohnWhen the creator of a virtual reality called the OASIS dies, he makes a posthumous challenge to all OASIS users to find his Easter Egg, which will give the finder his fortune and control of his world.
- DirectorGuillermo del ToroStarsIdris ElbaCharlie HunnamRinko KikuchiAs a war between humankind and monstrous sea creatures wages on, a former pilot and a trainee are paired up to drive a seemingly obsolete special weapon in a desperate effort to save the world from the apocalypse.Pacific Rim (2013): 24.8% North American Gross/Worldwide Total Gross
Pacific Rim: Uprising (2018): 20.5% North American Gross/Worldwide Total Gross - DirectorAng LeeStarsSuraj SharmaIrrfan KhanAdil HussainA young man who survives a disaster at sea is hurtled into an epic journey of adventure and discovery. While cast away, he forms an unexpected connection with another survivor: a fearsome Bengal tiger.
- DirectorJoachim RønningEspen SandbergStarsJohnny DeppGeoffrey RushJavier BardemCaptain Jack Sparrow is pursued by old rival Captain Salazar and a crew of deadly ghosts who have escaped from the Devil's Triangle. They're determined to kill every pirate at sea...notably Jack.Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011): 23.1% North American Gross/Worldwide Total Gross
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017): 21.7% North American Gross/Worldwide Total Gross - DirectorLuc BessonStarsBruce WillisMilla JovovichGary OldmanIn the colorful future, a cab driver unwittingly becomes the central figure in the search for a legendary cosmic weapon to keep Evil and Mr. Zorg at bay.
- DirectorCarlos SaldanhaMichael ThurmeierStarsRay RomanoJohn LeguizamoDenis LearyWhen Sid's attempt to adopt three dinosaur eggs gets him abducted by their real mother to an underground lost world, his friends attempt to rescue him.Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (2009): 22.2% North American Gross/Worldwide Total Gross
Ice Age: Continental Drift (2012): 15.7% North American Gross/Worldwide Total Gross
Ice Age: Collision Course (2016): 23.3% North American Gross/Worldwide Total Gross - DirectorPeter CattaneoStarsRobert CarlyleTom WilkinsonMark AddySix unemployed steel workers form a male striptease act. The women cheer them on to go for "the full monty" - total nudity.
- DirectorEdward ZwickStarsTom CruiseKen WatanabeBilly ConnollyNathan Algren, a US army veteran, is hired by the Japanese emperor to train his army in the modern warfare techniques. Nathan finds himself trapped in a struggle between two eras and two worlds.
- DirectorJennifer Yuh NelsonStarsJack BlackAngelina JolieJackie ChanPo and his friends fight to stop a peacock villain from conquering China with a deadly new weapon, but first the Dragon Warrior must come to terms with his past.
- DirectorMatthew VaughnStarsTaron EgertonColin FirthMark StrongAfter the Kingsman's headquarters is destroyed and the world is held hostage, an allied spy organization in the United States is discovered. These two elite secret agencies must band together to defeat a common enemy.
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsJamie BellAndy SerkisDaniel CraigIntrepid reporter Tintin and Captain Haddock set off on a treasure hunt for a sunken ship commanded by Haddock's ancestor.
- DirectorDuncan JonesStarsTravis FimmelPaula PattonBen FosterAs an Orc horde invades the planet Azeroth using a magic portal, a few human heroes and dissenting Orcs must attempt to stop the true evil behind this war.
- DirectorAlan TaylorStarsArnold SchwarzeneggerJason ClarkeEmilia ClarkeWhen John Connor, leader of the human resistance, sends Sgt. Kyle Reese back to 1984 to protect Sarah Connor and safeguard the future, an unexpected turn of events creates a fractured timeline.
- DirectorJon M. ChuStarsJesse EisenbergMark RuffaloWoody HarrelsonThe Four Horsemen resurface, and are forcibly recruited by a tech genius to pull off their most impossible heist yet.
- DirectorPhyllida LloydStarsMeryl StreepPierce BrosnanAmanda SeyfriedThe story of a bride-to-be trying to find her real father told using hit songs by the popular 1970s group ABBA.
- DirectorMichael BayStarsMark WahlbergNicola Peltz BeckhamJack ReynorWhen humanity allies with a bounty hunter in pursuit of Optimus Prime, the Autobots turn to a mechanic and his family for help.Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014): 22.2% North American Gross/Worldwide Total Gross
Transformers: The Last Knight (2017): 21.5% North American Gross/Worldwide Total Gross - DirectorJohn MooreStarsBruce WillisJai CourtneySebastian KochJohn McClane travels to Russia to help out his seemingly wayward son, Jack, only to discover that Jack is a CIA operative working undercover, causing the father and son to team up against underworld forces.
- DirectorFlorian Henckel von DonnersmarckStarsJohnny DeppAngelina JoliePaul BettanyRevolves around Frank, an American tourist visiting Italy to mend a broken heart. Elise is an extraordinary woman who deliberately crosses his path.
- DirectorRidley ScottStarsChristian BaleJoel EdgertonBen KingsleyThe defiant leader Moses rises up against Egyptian Pharaoh Ramses II, setting six hundred thousand slaves on a monumental journey of escape from Egypt and its terrifying cycle of deadly plagues.
- DirectorRoar UthaugStarsAlicia VikanderDominic WestWalton GogginsLara Croft, the fiercely independent daughter of a missing adventurer, must push herself beyond her limits when she discovers the island where her father, Lord Richard Croft disappeared.
- DirectorRoland EmmerichStarsJohn CusackThandiwe NewtonChiwetel EjioforA frustrated writer struggles to keep his family alive when a series of global catastrophes threatens to annihilate mankind.
- DirectorPeter BergStarsAlexander SkarsgårdBrooklyn DeckerLiam NeesonA fleet of ships is forced to do battle with an armada of unknown origins in order to discover and thwart their destructive goals.
- DirectorPaul W.S. AndersonStarsMilla JovovichAli LarterWentworth MillerWhile still out to destroy the evil Umbrella Corporation, Alice joins a group of survivors living in a prison surrounded by the infected who also want to relocate to the mysterious but supposedly unharmed safe haven known only as Arcadia.Resident Evil: Afterlife (2010): 20.0% North American Gross/Worldwide Total Gross
Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (2016): 8.6% North American Gross/Worldwide Total Gross - DirectorAlex KurtzmanStarsTom CruiseSofia BoutellaAnnabelle WallisAn ancient Egyptian princess is awakened from her crypt beneath the desert, bringing with her malevolence grown over millennia and terrors that defy human comprehension.
- DirectorChris WeitzStarsNicole KidmanDaniel CraigDakota Blue RichardsIn a parallel universe, young Lyra Belacqua journeys to the far North to save her best friend and other kidnapped children from terrible experiments by a mysterious organization.
- DirectorYimou ZhangStarsMatt DamonTian JingWillem DafoeIn ancient China, a group of European mercenaries encounters a secret army that maintains and defends the Great Wall of China against a horde of monstrous creatures.
- DirectorDavid YatesStarsEddie RedmayneKatherine WaterstonDan FoglerGellert Grindelwald plans to raise an army of wizards to rule over non-magical beings. In response, Newt Scamander's former professor, Albus Dumbledore, seeks his help to stop him.Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018): 24.4% North American Gross/Worldwide Total Gross
Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore (2022): 23.6% North American Gross/Worldwide Total Gross
Added 15 August 2019 & 01 February 2023 - DirectorBryan SingerStarsRami MalekLucy BoyntonGwilym LeeThe story of the legendary British rock band Queen and lead singer Freddie Mercury, leading up to their famous performance at Live Aid (1985).
- DirectorJoachim RønningStarsAngelina JolieElle FanningHarris DickinsonMaleficent and her goddaughter Aurora begin to question the complex family ties that bind them as they are pulled in different directions by impending nuptials, unexpected allies, and dark new forces at play.
- DirectorAdam WingardStarsAlexander SkarsgårdMillie Bobby BrownRebecca HallThe epic next chapter in the cinematic Monsterverse pits two of the greatest icons in motion picture history against each other--the fearsome Godzilla and the mighty Kong--with humanity caught in the balance.
- DirectorChristopher NolanStarsJohn David WashingtonRobert PattinsonElizabeth DebickiArmed with only the word "Tenet," and fighting for the survival of the entire world, CIA operative, The Protagonist, journeys through a twilight world of international espionage on a global mission that unfolds beyond real time.