10 Hollywood Blockbusters That Were Saved By The Overseas Box Office

Worldwide Box Office: $374 million (79.3% Overseas)

Naturally, an animated movie starring a character that is far more popular in Europe than the U.S. would be expected to perform better internationally. However, The Adventures Of Tintin was directed by iconic American director Steven Spielberg and because of that was expected to do well in the U.S. based on his name value. But the film grossed just $77.6 million in the U.S., one of the Spielberg’s lowest-grossing films of the last decade. Considering that is barely half of the film’s $135 million budget, The Adventures Of Tintin needed huge overseas box office grosses if the planned sequels were going to happen.

As expected, Europe came to the rescue. It premiered in Belgium, home of Tintin creator Hergé, and grossed $10 million, becoming the second highest-grossing film of 2011 in Belgium (behind only the final Harry Potter movie). The Adventures Of Tintin grossed $25 million in the UK and $54 million in France on its way to a nearly $300 million international box office.

While there are plans to adapt more Tintin adventures, Spielberg and co-producer Peter Jackson have yet to move forward with them. Considering that American audiences are now more familiar with the character after its strong domestic Blu-ray and DVD sales, it’s very likely that a Tintin sequel will be an even bigger box office success.