Real Gross

Newspapers didn't used to report on movie grosses at all. Then, in the blockbuster age, it started being about the horse race, and the numbers came out weekly. But generally they give domestic numbers, which are useful, but don't give the full picture.

Look at this Variety chart, which shows the top films worldwide for a very hot summer. These movies haven't entirely played out overseas, but the grosses give a pretty good idea of how you can't really say how a film has done until you know its international numbers.

The new Harry Potter did great domestically, as always, but it made twice as much overseas, as always. Then there's the latest Ice Age film--a series that has fanatical devotion around the globe. While it made a decent $193 million in America (less than Monsters vs. Aliens), it was the biggest international hit around, with a $640 million gross. Compare this to Up--much preferred by Americans as well as critics--which made $289 million domestically but so far only $156 internationally. (For a better comparison, Pixar's The Incredibles, which made $261 million domestically ended up with $371 million overseas.)

Overseas was also the salvation of the latest Terminator (a known franchise), with $125 million domestic and $246 million international. Same for Angels And Demons (a sequel set in Europe and featuring international stars), which did a blah $133 million in the U.S. and a phenomeonal $351 million everywhere else.

On the other hand, some blockbusters simply play better in America. The Hangover made $270 million here and $160 million there, while Star Trek made $256 million locally but only $125 million elsewhere. (To be fair, The Hangover's numbers are quite good, considering it wasn't a sequel, featured no stars, and is a genre that often doesn't translate, while Paramount couldn't have asked much more for the latest Trek, which has never topped $100 million internationally before.)

Right now it looks like Inglourious Basterds will be Quentin Tarantino's top-grossing film. But he's as big a name overseas as here, and Brad Pitt's bigger overseas than here, so it should be interesting to see where it does best.