‘Detective Pikachu’ Narrowly Beats ‘Avengers: Endgame’ at International Box Office

By Rebecca Rubin

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – The reign of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes has fallen, at least at the international box office.

While numbers could fluctuate after final tallies come in Monday, estimates on Sunday show Warner Bros. and Legendary’s “Detective Pikachu” earned $103 million from 62 foreign markets. Meanwhile, Disney and Marvel’s “Avengers: Endgame” pulled in $102 million from 55 overseas territories.

“” debuted in North America with a strong $58 million for a global start of $161 million. Outside of the States, it had the best showing in China, grossing $40.8 million, followed by the United Kingdom ($6.6 million), Germany ($5 million), and Mexico ($4.97 million). Since launching in Japan last weekend, the live-action Pokemon movie has earned $12.9 million in that territory, bringing its worldwide haul to $170 million.

Ryan Reynolds voices the titular electric yellow sleuth in the adaptation of the 2016 video game of the same name. The Rob Letterman-directed film is expected to resonate overseas, where Pokemon has a huge following.

Of course, ticket sales for “” are no slouch. The box office juggernaut has amassed a monster $1.7 billion overseas, ranking just behind “Avatar” ($2.02 billion) on international box office charts. It’s also the second-biggest movie globally of all time with $2.48 billion, again trailing behind only “Avatar” with $2.78 billion. At the domestic box office, “Avengers: Endgame” has hit $724 million, passing “Avengers: Infinity War” ($679 million) and “Black Panther” ($700 million) to become the third-highest grossing movie ever.

China continues to power international ticket sales. “Avengers: Endgame” is now the biggest Hollywood film in the Middle Kingdom’s history, crossing $600 million. The blockbuster is the highest-grossing film in a number of markets, including Brazil, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Thailand.

Among new releases, MGM’s “The Hustle,” a gender-bent comedy starring Anne Hathaway and Rebel Wilson, earned $13.7 million overseas. It debuted in North America with $13.5 million for a worldwide start of $27.2 million. Universal is distributing the movie in a majority of foreign markets. Top territories include Russia with $2.4 million, Germany with $1.8 million, and Australia with $1.8 million.