Release
Wanted was initially set to be released in cinemas on March 28, 2008, but in December 2007, Universal announced it would be moving the release date later to June 27, 2008. Previews started in the UK on June 25. It was also the opening night film for the Los Angeles Film Festival on June 19. Wanted debuted in 3,185 theaters and earned $50,927,085 in its opening weekend, placing it at second place after WALL-E. Internationally, the film grossed $33 million on its opening weekend, breaking records in Russia and South Korea. Wanted grossed $341,433,252, of which $134,508,551 was from North America and $206,924,701 elsewhere.
Given the Russian origin of the director, Universal released a specially localized version in Russia. The literary translation of the English dialog was written by the writer Sergey Lukyanenko. Several texts appearing on the screen and important for the plot were translated using CGI, without using subtitles or a voice-over translation. Several famous Russian actors, most of which were also in Bekmambetov's Night Watch and Day Watch, dubbed the main characters, and Konstantin Khabensky dubbed himself as the Exterminator. James McAvoy also provided some words in Russian for Wesley Gibson. Danny Elfman's song "The Little Things" received a version in Russian, performed by Elfman himself, and Bekmambetov also directed a music video for the band Delta as part of a viral marketing campaign in Russia.
Wanted was released on DVD and Blu-ray on December 2, 2008 in the U.S. Two versions were released including a single disc DVD and a two-disc edition of both the DVD and Blu-ray. A collectible two-disc gift-set DVD also included a photobook of the Assassins, collectible postcards and a lenticular film cel in an acrylic frame. The DVD debuted at second place on the charts (behind The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian), and generated over $65 million in revenue by February 2009. The Blu-ray debuted at first place on the charts.
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