“The Top 10 International Earners for 2008”

The Wrap provides the details:

The worldwide box office rose 5.2 percent in 2008 to a total of $28.1 billion, fueled by foreign ticket sales — which now comprise 65 percent of the total, an increase of 17 percent over the last five years, according to he latest annual report by the Motion Picture Association of America.

In 1990, foreign ticket sales accounted for about 30% of box office revenues — which means it’s more than doubled in two decades. The top 10 international earners for 2008:

1. “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull”

2. “The Dark Knight”

3. “Mamma Mia!”

4. “Kung Fu Panda”

5. “Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa”

6. “Quantum of Solace”

7. “Hancock”

8. “WALL-E”

9. “The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor”

10. “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian”

Three animated movies. If you include The Dark Knight and Quantum of Solace, six sequels. But possibly the most shocking title on that list is Mamma Mia! Domestic gross is no slouch: $144M. But internationally it raked in $458M. That’s within $10–12M of The Dark Knight and Indiana Jones. 

So what’s your take on why Mamma Mia!, a movie that rates a very average 53% on Rotten Tomatoes, did so phenomenally well overseas?

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