The film draws on a number of macabre incidents from international banking : the Bank of Credit and Commerce International crisis in 1991 ; the murder of Roberto Calvi , an alleged banker to the Sicilian Mafia , in London in 1982 ; and the assassination by poisoning of Georgi Markov in London , in 1978 . The bank is making large loans to rogue states and simultaneously acting as their munitions broker . The script offers the chilling insight that the creditors are the real winners of any conflict . A.O. Scott commented on the opportunity to make a film critical of international finance , " that multinational weapons manufacturers can be portrayed as more decent , civic-minded and principled than global financiers surely says something about the state of the world . " '' The International '' was first screened on 5 February 2009 at the 59th Berlin International Film Festival and was released in the United States and Canada on 13 February 2009 . In a six-week run in America , it earned $ 25 million at the box office . It was released in Australia on 19 February and the United Kingdom on 27 February 2009 . Its total theatrical earnings worldwide were $ 60,161,391
59th Berlin International Film Festival
59th Berlin International Film Festival
The International (2009 film)