In a weekend marked by a generally slow box office due to the Super Bowl, the concert documentary “Stray Kids: The dominATE Experience” defied expectations, claiming the No. 1 spot globally with an impressive $19.1 million. Released internationally by Universal and domestically by Bleecker Street, the film earned $13.2 million overseas and $5.6 million in the U.S. and Canada during its opening weekend. These figures indicate a strong performance, with Universal reporting that its international ticket sales are tracking ahead of other K-pop concert documentaries, including 2023’s “BTS Yet to Come to the Cinema,” which finished its run with $29 million. “Stray Kids” has also surpassed the lifetime grosses of earlier K-pop films like 2019’s “Bring the Soul: The Movie” ($12.1 million) and 2020’s “Break the Silence: The Movie” ($8.9 million). The documentary captures the popular K-pop boy band’s world tour, highlighted by their sold-out performance at Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium.

The film’s success was significantly bolstered by its strong showing in Imax, which contributed $3.9 million—20.5% of its global box office. This marks Imax’s largest opening weekend ever for a Korean-language film. Paul Dergarabedian, Comscore’s head of marketplace trends, noted that a slow overall industry weekend can create opportunities for films like “Stray Kids: The dominATE Experience,” underscoring the undeniable power of the K-pop phenomenon and the substantial appetite for large-scale concert films in a communal movie theater setting. The film’s ability to top the worldwide box office was further aided by major Hollywood studios’ decision to avoid new releases around the Super Bowl, leading to a marketplace primarily fueled by holdover titles and generally depressed global ticket sales.

Following “Stray Kids” on the global charts was Disney’s animated powerhouse “Zootopia 2,” which secured second place with $16.8 million in its 11th weekend of release, comprising $12.8 million internationally and $4 million domestically. This staggering performance pushes its worldwide total to $1.8 billion, solidifying its position as the ninth-highest-grossing movie in history. “Zootopia 2” even outranked a much newer Disney release, Sam Raimi’s survival thriller “Send Help,” which took third place with $16.3 million globally in its second weekend, adding $6.3 million overseas and $10 million in North America. The well-reviewed R-rated film has so far grossed $53.7 million worldwide against a $40 million budget, with international sales reaching $17.9 million.

Another Disney title, James Cameron’s epic “Avatar: Fire and Ash,” landed closely behind with $15.7 million globally. Of this, international territories accounted for $12.2 million, while the domestic market generated $3.5 million. Cameron’s third installment in the otherworldly franchise has now accumulated $1.43 billion to date, a substantial figure, albeit less than its predecessors, 2009’s “Avatar” ($2.9 billion) and 2022’s “The Way of Water” ($2.33 billion).

Beyond the top earners, several other films achieved significant box office milestones. A24’s “Marty Supreme” has surpassed “Everything Everywhere All at Once” to become the studio’s highest-grossing film of all time, amassing $147 million worldwide. This total outstrips “Everything Everywhere All at Once” ($142 million) and Alex Garland’s dystopian thriller “Civil War” ($127 million worldwide) among A24 releases. The $70 million R-rated sports dramedy, which has yet to open in several major international territories, has also been an Oscar contender with nine nominations, including Best Picture and Lead Actor for Timothee Chalamet.

Lionsgate’s sexy psychological thriller “The Housemaid” achieved a major milestone, generating a mighty $354.7 million globally. This mid-budget film, starring Sydney Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried, has become an unexpected international breakout, with $231 million in ticket sales coming from overseas markets. Produced for just $35 million, “The Housemaid,” which largely appealed to female audiences, is set to be highly profitable for the studio. Finally, Chloe Zhao’s “Hamnet,” a Shakespearean drama, pushed its global grosses to $70.5 million, with $48.7 million from overseas and $21.8 million domestically. This is a notable amount for an arthouse release in a challenging market, particularly for the $35 million-budgeted film from Focus Features. “Hamnet” has also been recognized in the awards race, securing eight Oscar nominations, including Best Director and Actress for Jessie Buckley.