As thought, last weekend, District 9 took a chunk of G.I. Joe’s audience domestically, but the film is still rolling along fairly strong worldwide.  It hit at least $2 million every day throughout the week, and jumped to $3.6 million Friday night.  At this point, according to Deadline Hollywood Daily, the film is estimated to bring in $12.5 million domestically this weekend which would bring it to $120.5 million domestically since release three weeks ago.

But the real story here is the worldwide appeal.  G.I. Joe: The Rise of COBRA has quietly kept it’s #1 ranking worldwide for 2 solid weeks, and still brings in some serious dollars in other countries.  Box Office Mojo is reporting that overseas box office returns stand right now at about $102 million (though often those numbers are somewhat out of date).  That means by Monday, The Rise of COBRA could have $225 – $240 million worldwide.   Lorenzo Di Bonaventura initially said he wanted $350 million to guarantee a sequel, but recent comments from Paramount have put their goal at a more mangeable $300 million.  That number certainly seems pretty achievable at this point.

Not bad numbers at all, and certainly not the “bust” that many armchair quarterbacks were predicting and even hoping for.

Related posts:

1. Final Box Office tallies are in, Rise of COBRA falls a bit short of estimates
2. G.I. Joe: The Rise of COBRA plummets in Box Office standings, but future is still bright
3. Saturday early Box Office estimates in – Rise of Cobra drops 16%, hits $18 million
4. Early Box Office estimates put Rise of COBRA at a possible $60 million opening weekend
5. More useless Box Office analysis