The Lego Batman Movie has opened day and date in 60 markets this weekend and so far has pulled in $12 million at the box office. The animated pic is tracking 49% ahead of the first installment, enjoying the beginning of school holidays throughout Europe, and seeing what the studio says is “excellent numbers” across Asia where some countries in the market had sneaks over an early Chinese New Year period. It is also outperforming the first installment in Eastern Europe and in Latin America even though kids are in school. When rolled out its original IP, The Lego Movie, in February 2014, it took 12 days to reach $200M worldwide. Now a known (and fan-based) franchise, the second installment should get there quicker. Lego Batman is on track for a domestic haul of $54M-$55M and while it’s surpassing Fifty Shades Darker in the U.S. by about $6M so far, overseas it’s a different story: Fifty Shades is really dominating the marketplace (see related story), having released two days earlier.
The Lego Batman Movie is playing on 13,685 screens. In the UK, it is ranking No. 2 behind Fifty Shades Darker but nonetheless has grossed $1.1M from its 1,441 sites. Including previews leading up to release, the running cume is now $4M, on par with the first installment. Mexico generated a strong $489K on 968 screens (again, on par with the first installment), and also ranked No. 2 behind Fifty Shades. In Spain, Lego Batman took in $220K on 406 screens, also No. 2 behind you know what, and coming in 5% ahead of the opening day for The Lego Movie. France has a running cume of$806K, ranking in the top five as school holidays continue to expand across the market. In Germany, it is also behind Fifty Shades for a No. 2 spot, with a two-day cume of $549K from 895 screens. Several additional states begin their holidays on Monday. Elsewhere, the Thursday-Friday cume in Brazil is now $453K from 777 screens and also No. 2 behind its nemesis from Universal Pictures. In Russia, it ranks No. 3 (behind Fifty Shades and John Wick 2) at $391K on 1,962 screens and in South Korea — where the country is enduring a cold snap — it is in the top five at least, with a running cume of $316K over two days from 465 houses.
Finally, in the UAE, Lego Batman has a cume so far of $309K and a No. 2 spot. The Lego Movie Sequel is an upcoming computer-animated space action musical film[2] and a sequel to the 2014 film The Lego Movie. It will be the fourth film in the franchise, set to follow the releases of both of the first film's spin-off films, The Lego Batman Movie and The Lego Ninjago Movie set to be released in 2017. It is being directed by Mike Mitchell,[1] with Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, writers and directors of the first film, returning as producers and co-writers. After it became clear that the first film would become a blockbuster success, a sequel was already in the works even before its release. However, Warner Bros. did not invite Village Roadshow Pictures, the first film's Australian production partner, to participate in the making of the sequel. The film is set to be released on February 8, 2019 in 2D, 3D, RealD 3D, and IMAX 3D through Warner Bros. Pictures. To date, there has been no indication as to whether any cast members from the original film, such as Chris Pratt, Will Ferrell, Elizabeth Banks, Will Arnett, Liam Neeson and Morgan Freeman, will reprise their roles in the sequel.
Even before the critical acclaim and blockbuster success of The Lego Movie, plans for a sequel had already been set in motion. On February 3, 2014, Jared Stern was hired to write the sequel, along with Michelle Morgan.[3] On March 12, 2014, Deadline reported that animation co-director Chris McKay will direct the sequel with Lord and Miller as producers.[4] Warner Bros. did not invite co-producer Village Roadshow Pictures to return as a participant in the sequel.[5] On April 10, 2014, it was reported that McKay wanted to have more women in the sequel than men.[6] On July 28, 2014, it was reported that Chris Pratt wants to return to reprise his role as Emmet. It was also reported that Will Arnett might return to reprise his role as Batman, but has not decided yet.[7] However, he has reprised his role as Batman in The Lego Batman Movie. In October 2014, Warner Bros. scheduled The Lego Batman Movie for 2017, and The Lego Movie 2 for 2018.[9] On October 25, 2014, it was reported that Lord and Miller had signed on to write The Lego Movie 2.
[10] On October 30, it was announced that Australia-based animation studio Animal Logic was in talks to produce the next three Lego films (though the deal was not finalized at the time) and the New South Wales government would make financial contributions to all the films.[11] On November 12, during an interview with BBC News, Lord and Miller revealed that there would be more female characters featuring in the film. On February 24, 2015, the sequel was officially titled The Lego Movie Sequel and Rob Schrab was officially announced as the film's director, replacing McKay as director as he was scheduled to direct The Lego Batman Movie instead.[13] By February 2017, Schrab had been replaced by Mike Mitchell, reportedly due to "creative differences". The film is scheduled to be released on February 8, 2019.[14] It was originally scheduled to be released in May 2017,[15] but the release date was later assigned to The Lego Batman Movie, which was itself rescheduled for release on February 10, 2017.
At that time, the film was planned to release on May 18, 2018. , who most recently directed the DreamWorks Animation hit Trolls, is set to helm the sequel to ’ The Lego Movie. He replaces Rob Schrab, who had been attached. Matt Fogel penned the most recent version the pic, which has a February 8, 2019 release date. It follows the first one which bowed in 2014, minted $469.2 million worldwide and snagged an Oscar nomination. Trolls made $338.6M worldwide under Mitchell, the animation veteran who directed Shrek Forever After and Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked among other pics. Subscribe to Deadline Breaking News Alerts and keep your inbox happyThe LEGO Batman Movie had a lot of built-in buzz ahead of its wide release. A hugely successful predecessor, an established, generation-spanning Batman fan base, and a relative lack of box office competition set the sequel up for smash success in its opening weekend. Its chief rival in terms of ticket sales was the newly released Fifty Shades Darker, but LEGO Batman is on pace to win the weekend in its first days in U.S. theaters.
The international markets tell a different story in terms of the competition. Fifty Shades is expected to win in terms of foreign box office totals, but that doesn’t mean that The LEGO Batman Movie isn’t still going to be a huge success. Early box office figures have LEGO Batman on pace to crush The LEGO Movie’s international totals in its opening weekend two years ago. As reported by Deadline, The LEGO Batman Movie has earned $12 million on Thursday and Friday in 60 combined markets at the international box office in its opening weekend overseas. It’s projected to earn about 49 percent more than the opening weekend for The LEGO Movie, which earned over $18 million in its international opening weekend. Deadline noted that LEGO Batman may be benefiting from being released during the start of school vacation for kids in Europe. Warner Bros. is also expecting “excellent numbers” for LEGO Batman across Asia. LEGO Batman has already earned $1.1 million in the U.K. alone on 1,441 screens, with an estimated cume of $4 million including sneak previews.
Its combined Thursday-Friday gross in Germany, France, and Spain is estimated at $1.575 million. It’s at $489,000 in Mexico and is estimated at a combined $1.469 million in Russia, South Korea, Brazil, and the United Arab Emirates. While LEGO Batman is expected to beat Fifty Shades Darker at the U.S. box office by the end of the weekend, it will likely have to settle for second place in international markets, as Fifty Shades had the benefit of a slightly earlier release. LEGO Batman was already a huge critical success as a more-than-worthy follow-up to The LEGO Movie. It’s not just an acclaimed animated feature – it could also be better than anything the D.C. Extended Universe has to offer. Considering the buzz surrounding the sequel to the smash hit LEGO Movie, and the already-massive Batman fan base, it ought to come as no surprise that The LEGO Batman Movie is surpassing the original at the overseas box office. Though Deadline projects LEGO Batman to hit around $55 million in its opening weekend at the U.S. box office, that number would be down from The LEGO Movie’s $69 million opening weekend in 2014.