As the crew traveled through major cities in Europe, they stirred up quite a bit of attention. Starting from this Thursday and Friday, "Chaos City" was set to release in key Hollywood markets across Europe, Latin America, and the Far East. Although the film wasn't a typical summer blockbuster, the positive reviews and box office results from North America could still significantly impact its performance abroad.
After four weekdays of screening, "Chaos City" had grossed over $30 million in North America, bringing its total close to $100 million.
Buoyed by a series of positive developments and the crew's all-out promotional efforts, the film gained even more traction. Notably, Murphy led the crew on a visit to the Real Madrid Club during their promotional activities in Madrid. This Hollywood-meets-world-class-football-club event attracted considerable attention, and Murphy even received a personalized jersey from the Real Madrid Club.
In no time, "Chaos City" became the most talked-about film across Europe for the week. By the end of the weekend, it had unseated "Thor" to become the new overseas box office champion.
The film had initially premiered in Australia, where it grossed $6.2 million over four days from Thursday to Sunday.
Simultaneously, it opened in Argentina and Brazil, earning over $2.3 million and nearly $4 million, respectively.
Starting on Friday, "Chaos City" launched across Europe, grossing $8.6 million over the weekend in the UK, $5.4 million in France, nearly $9 million in Germany, $4.8 million in Spain, $3.5 million in Italy, and $5 million in Russia.
The Far East also saw impressive results, with South Korea contributing over $3 million and Japan nearly $4 million.
Out of the 60+ countries and regions where it premiered that weekend, "Chaos City" topped the box office charts in over 40 of them.
In its first week of international release, "Chaos City" grossed an impressive $125 million, surpassing its North American earnings.
This was a rare achievement for Murphy's films, which historically performed better in North America. Given the vast size of international markets, it's not surprising that the overseas box office outpaced that of North America.
Compared to "Chaos City," "Thor," which had opened globally the previous week, entered a decline phase. It earned another $40 million from overseas markets over the weekend, dropping to second place in the international box office.
Meanwhile, "Chaos City" received high praise in Europe.
In an interview with Le Figaro, renowned Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar shared his views on the current state of Hollywood cinema. Almodóvar remarked, "It has become increasingly difficult for me to find movies I like in theaters. It's much harder than it used to be."
"Maybe it's because I'm getting old," he continued. "Today's Hollywood movies are much worse than before. For example, 'Thor' and many other childish superhero movies are terrible."
Almodóvar expressed his boredom with superhero movies, reminiscing about a time when adventure films captured his interest. He lamented the overreliance on special effects and computer-generated characters in modern movies, which diminished his desire to watch them.
Conversely, Almodóvar praised "Chaos City," describing Murphy's film as a rare gem among Hollywood commercial movies.
While Almodóvar's comments could be seen as somewhat biased, Murphy himself understood that in this era of entertainment overload, the most crucial aspect of commercial films remained their entertainment value.
Despite its dark and heavy themes, "Chaos City" undoubtedly contained enough entertainment elements.
However, in some international markets, "Chaos City's" box office performance fell short of expectations.
For instance, in the major market across the Pacific, which 20th Century Fox had heavily invested in, the film's reception was lukewarm. In four days, it grossed only $300,000, far below Fox's expectations.
Though the film had received approval for release across the Pacific, it had inevitably faced significant cuts. Its dark and oppressive themes didn't resonate with the mainstream audience there. With many scenes removed, some parts of the story appeared disjointed, limiting its box office potential.
A film's performance is always influenced by the socio-political environment of its release region.
Murphy had not held high hopes for "Chaos City's" performance across the Pacific. Thus, he wasn't surprised by the disappointing box office figures. However, 20th Century Fox had pinned many hopes on this market and was understandably disappointed with the initial results.
Kara Faith called Murphy to discuss the issue, but there wasn't much Murphy could do. The market across the Pacific was still developing, and simple, explosive popcorn films had broader appeal. While there was a niche audience for darker, oppressive films, their numbers were limited.
In a few years, the situation might improve significantly.
Aside from the market across the Pacific, "Chaos City" also had lackluster results in Vietnam, the Philippines, and Indonesia. In these regions, "Thor" continued to dominate the box office.
Nevertheless, in North America's largest market, "Chaos City" faced no strong competition in its second weekend, maintaining its position at the top of the box office.
Compared to its opening weekend, "Chaos City" had a steady second weekend, with a drop of only 43%, earning another $35.6 million. This brought its North American total to $131.2 million, comfortably surpassing the $100 million mark.
"Thor" failed to hold onto second place at the box office, dropping 61% in its second weekend to earn $18.75 million. It continued to strive towards the $100 million mark in North America.
The film that pushed "Thor" to third place was the newly released "Bridesmaids." This typical Apatow Gang film attracted a large audience with its crude humor, grossing $27 million in its opening weekend. Given its $35 million production budget, it performed exceptionally well.
However, "Bridesmaids" was not a threat to "Chaos City's" hold on the top spot, allowing "Chaos City" to achieve its second consecutive weekend at the North American box office.
With this, "Chaos City's" global box office surpassed $250 million.
For a film with no pre-established audience base, grossing over $250 million worldwide in ten days was an impressive feat.
Both the media and 20th Century Fox considered "Chaos City" a success.
After concluding the European promotional tour, Murphy and the crew made stops in Japan, South Korea, and Australia. During its third weekend, "Chaos City" achieved its third consecutive weekend at the top of the North American box office, bringing its North American total to $177.2 million. Reaching $200 million was almost a certainty.
Internationally, the film expanded from 60+ to over 90 countries and regions, earning another $76 million.
As a result, "Chaos City's" global box office quietly approached $400 million.
After declining an invitation from David and Margot Robbie to visit their farm in Australia, Murphy parted ways with the crew in Sydney. He boarded a flight to Tel Aviv, where he met up with Gal Gadot and had a conversation with her mother.
Perhaps understanding that the situation couldn't be changed and recognizing Murphy's current status, the meeting was quite pleasant. Murphy and Gal Gadot received her family's blessings.
With numerous work commitments waiting for Murphy in North America, he and Gal Gadot stayed in Tel Aviv for only two days before flying back to Los Angeles.
Upon returning to Los Angeles, Murphy immediately went to the post-production studio rented by Seth Rogen and Jonah Hill to participate in the dubbing of some scenes for "This Is the End."
The film had finished shooting at the end of April, and Seth Rogen and Jonah Hill had promptly begun post-production. Both Murphy and Kara Faith hoped the film could be released by the end of the year. Given Seth Rogen's work efficiency, this seemed feasible.
Most scenes had been shot with on-set sound, but a few required re-dubbing due to inadequate audio quality. Murphy's scenes were relatively few and were completed within two days.
"The best release window for this film is between Thanksgiving in November and Christmas in December."
In the post-production studio, Kara Faith told Seth Rogen, "You need to finish all post-production work by early October. 20th Century Fox will then conduct test screenings and theater promotions to secure more screens."
Seth Rogen was confident, "No problem, we will definitely finish on time."
Murphy nodded at Kara Faith, "I've seen some of the edited clips. They're quite good."
While gross-out comedies might not be mainstream commercial films, they had a dedicated audience in North America, much like horror films. As long as the quality was decent and the promotion was adequate, they had a good chance of being profitable.
Moreover, in today's film market, films that incorporate real identities with elements of horror and suspense were relatively fresh.
Murphy exchanged a few more words with Seth Rogen and Jonah Hill before leaving the studio with Kara Faith.
With the success of "The Hangover" and knowing Seth Rogen's capabilities, Murphy was confident that, barring any unforeseen circumstances, this film was unlikely to lose money, given 20th Century Fox's promotional prowess.
As they walked to the parking lot, Kara Faith opened her car door and, before getting in, reminded Murphy, "Don't forget about tomorrow's party."
Murphy gave an OK sign, "Gal and I will be there on time."
The next evening, James Murdoch, the new co-chairman and CEO of 20th Century Fox, would host a grand reception party under the studio's name.
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