'Unbreakable' tops in holiday-hit frame
Opening week in France totaled $7.1 mil
The performance by "Unbreakable," helped by the international marquee appeal of stars Bruce Willis and Samuel Jackson, was the highlight in a generally modest frame as most markets saw few major films open amid the distraction of year-end celebrations.
Gaumont BVI reported particularly impressive results in France, where opening week through Jan. 3 totaled $7.1 million over 548 engagements for "Unbreakable."
Sales manager Yves Le Caignec notes that the performance was enhanced by being the only significant entry during a period that distribs traditionally shun.
The Dec. 27 opening night saw grosses of nearly $300,000 from the Paris region alone, second-best total after "Mission: Impossible 2."
Teutons satisfied
Shyamalan's follow-up to "The Sixth Sense" also dominated in Germany with $5.4 million at 721 through Jan. 4. Local exhibs describe themselves as very satisfied, noting that films with Willis usually rack up solid numbers in the territory.
It was the third best BVI debut in both markets. Three other Euro territories also opened impressively as the U.K debut week led with $4.5 million at 413 through Jan. 3, including a 200% jump from Sunday to Monday. Austria, with 89, and Belgium, with 76, both hit $1 million through Jan. 3.
$100-mil in sights
"Unbreakable," which has cumed $90 million Stateside, also rolled out solidly in Israel with $365,000 at 30 through Jan. 3 to set a BVI record for that territory. BVI expects foreign cume, which has hit $47.9 million, should easily top $100 million with openings coming soon in Spain, Brazil and Japan.
The Italian market showed strong support for a pair of homegrown laffers, as Medusa's "Ask Me If I'm Happy" dominated with an impressive 20.5% share since its Dec. 15 debut.
"Ask," starring powerhouse trio Aldo, Giovanni & Giacomo as aspiring actors, has cumed $23 million to rank sixth in the list of top grossers at the Italo box office.
Filmauro's "Body Guards," starring Christian De Sica and Massimo Boldi as guards assigned to protect supermodels including Cindy Crawford, also scored a hefty $9.1 million in two weeks.
More modest results came from Cecchi Gori's "Freewheeling," a comedy about a paraplegic that first scored highly in its exclusive pre-Christmas debut in helmer-star Vincenzo Salemme's native Naples and then performed less robustly with $2.5 million since going nationwide.
'Parents' rule
"Meet the Parents" continued to be met with overseas approval as it led in Australia in its second weekend with $3 million at 266 and in Spain, where its 10-day cume hit $4.4 million. U.K. grosses have hit $11.6 million in 20 days.
BVI's "Dinosaur," which cumed $137 million domestically, also showed no signs of becoming extinct in offshore markets with a $188 million international total through Jan. 3. It remained No. 1 in Japan for the fourth straight week with a $27.8 million cume to be the dominant film during that nation's Shogatsu holiday period.
"Dinosaur" continued to generate solid French coin in second with $3.9 million at 821 for an 18% hike, pushing its five-week take to $22.9 million.
BVI's other animal entry, "102 Dalmatians," dug up solid numbers in Australia, Sweden, Mexico and the U.K., where the family comedy had picked up after a sluggish start to cume $8.5 million in 27 days.
U.K. goes for 'Grinch'
"How The Grinch Stole Christmas," which has topped $253 million Stateside, has boosted its foreign cume past $67 million, including $19.9 million in the U.K., where it has become Imagine Entertainment's highest grosser ever, surpassing "Ransom."
Solid overseas grosses continued to materialize for "What Lies Beneath" with a New Year's weekend of $1.4 million at 648 in 11 markets. Foreign cume has hit $117.2 million.
"Pokemon 2000: The Movie" remained a moderate performer over New Year's weekend with $1.1 million at 790 in Germany to finish third and $832,361 at 634 French engagements. Foreign cume from two dozen territories is $22.9 million.
Miramax reports "Scary Movie" has cumed $120 million in 43 foreign markets, including $16.5 million in France and $9.1 million in Spain. Its worldwide B.O. has hit $277 million, top figure for any Miramax/Dimension release.
