Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy has pᴀssed a major box office milestone. The movie is the fourth installment in the romantic comedy series and follows the тιтle character (Renée Zellweger) falling for a much younger man (Leo Woodall) after the death of her husband (Colin Firth). The Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy cast also includes Chiwetel Ejiofor, Jim Broadbent, Isla Fisher, and Hugh Grant. Although every previous movie has grossed more than $200 million worldwide, the new installment is only being released in theaters internationally, having been given an exclusive Peacock streaming release in the United States.

Per Variety, Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy is projected to add $19.2 million in 73 international markets by the end of the weekend. This will bring its cumulative global box office total to $71 million, officially making it the third movie of the year to pᴀss the $70 million milestone worldwide, after DreamWorks’ Dog Man and the Marvel Cinematic Universe offering Captain America: Brave New World. It is also well on its way toward pᴀssing $75 million, a milestone it should achieve shortly.

What This Means For Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy

A Domestic Theatrical Release Could Have Been A Success

This international gross exceeds that of all three previous Bridget Jones movies during the same point in their runs, indicating that it could have potentially performed similarly in domestic theaters, helping to boost its global total even more. At the time of writing, it remains to be seen if this will limit its ability to become anything other than the lowest-grossing movie in the franchise by the end of its run. Below, see a breakdown of the domestic and international performance of the entire franchise:

The franchise has had severely diminishing returns at the domestic box office, and it has historically performed better overseas. This is likely the biggest reason that the new movie got a U.S. streaming release, though the potentially controversial Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy age gap may have been another. However, as one of the highest-budgeted installments, it likely needs to earn $125 million or more in theaters just to break even, so a domestic release still could have helped push its theatrical profits into a more secure zone, even though it seems entirely able to hit that milestone regardless.

Our Take On The Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy Box Office

There Are Multiple Possible Reasons For Its Success

The international success of the sequel seems to extend beyond the fact that it is a nostalgic legacy sequel, as Bridget Jones’ Baby was the same thing. One factor that could be helping is the presence of major up-and-coming star Leo Woodall, who recently broke out with roles in The White Lotus and One Day. Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy reviews are also overwhelmingly positive, including the one from ScreenRant‘s Mary Kᴀssel, who says that “Renée Zellweger is as charming as ever” in the new movie.

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Source: Variety