Live Poll: Worldwide Blockbusters That Lack Domestic Appeal

FYI

North American Foreign Language Success Stories
60.0% Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) - Box Office Mojo 2,027 theaters
25.1% Life Is Beautiful (1998) - Box Office Mojo 1,136 theaters
30.3% Hero (2004) - Box Office Mojo 2,175 theaters
44.9% Instructions Not Included (2013) - Box Office Mojo 978 theaters
45.2% Pan's Labyrinth (2006) - Box Office Mojo 1,143 theaters
19.1% Amelie (2001) - Box Office Mojo  303 theaters

Domestic Box Office totals likely represent a North America split of 90% USA and 10% Canadian on average.

I agree the proper usage is trickier than one might think. I gave great thought to the use the term before using it. Un as a prefix simply means "not". There are dozens of definitions for Un-american and while I agree it doesn't match the one definition you cite. I think the definition you cite is more consistent with anti-American. By Un-american, I mean simply not consistent with American tastes, interests and values, rather than anti-American. Non-American, I think implies not made or produced in America, which means something completely different and not what I intended. The common thread of these movies is they did not connect with American audiences as well as they did with global audiences, rather not being made in or by Americans.

The whole idea of the poll suggestion is to point out the past rarity of achieving international blockbusters status without catering to American tastes and securing American support. Only forty films out five hundred have broken the $250 million box office threshold with out at least a 25 share from North America. Most blockbusters secure a third to half their total from North America, something that seems to be changing. All the options are imperfect, due to the connotations people associate beyond the actual meaning. I think Un-American is the most accurate and says what I mean. The term also highlights the ethnocentric nature of blockbusters that only 8% of international blockbusters achieved the distinction without the support of 5% of the world's population, North America.

I find the list interesting primarily because it begs the question of why these movies didn't play well in America. While other international blockbusters, like The Blind Side, Ghostbusters, and How the Grinch Stole Christmas are at the complete other end of the spectrum garnering 75% or more of their worldwide gross from North American audiences.

 I tried to further re-enforce and clarify the neutral usage of the term in the introduction and by restating the question as appealing to tastes other than American (ie more global appeal)
Which international blockbuster* of this decidedly un-American bunch or alternatively from this group with more global appeal is the best?

I find the question confusing.. Try to keep it simple.

I get what you mean by "un-American", but a different title could be something like "Truly International Blockbusters".

I simplified the question. Which international blockbuster* with more appeal to global audiences than American ones is the best? * limit one domestic wide release movie per franchise

I thought the purpose of the title is to get people click through to find out more, it seems to be accurate and attention grabbing as is.

Added 3 low rated blockbuster titles back into list, still  limited distribution movie exclusion
22.1%  A Good Day to Die Hard  3553 theaters
20.4% The Smurfs 2 3867 theaters
13.0%  xXx: The Return of Xander Cage 3651 theaters

revised title
Worldwide Blockbusters That Lack Domestic Appeal


revised introduction and question

These select movies accomplished what few films ever have; they became international hits with relatively meager box office contributions from American and Canadian moviegoers. Despite wide domestic theater releases, all accumulated 25% or less of their total worldwide box office from North American audiences. In spite of this, all these films raked in at least $250 million in worldwide ticket sales. By comparison, in the past most blockbuster movies typically get a kick start of about 35-55% of their worldwide gross from North American moviegoers alone. Source: Box Office Mojo

Which of these worldwide blockbusters* with more appeal to global audiences than North American ticket buyers is the best? * limit one domestic wide release movie per franchise

urbanemovies,

I've updated the title of this thread to reflect the updated title of your list.

Thanks, much appreciated.