Euro B.O. sweating
'Raider,' 'Harbor' heat up other territories
Domestic dud "Evolution" showed signs of a revolution in its offshore launches, and "Dr. Dolittle 2" shone in Mexico and Latin America.
"Atlantis: The Lost Empire's" initial foreign tryouts in Singapore ($256,000 on 27 plus $129,000 from previews) and Malaysia ($108,000 on 29) came in well below recent Mouse House toons -- but neither is a great market for Disney animation and a truer test looms this weekend as it ventures into Latin America.
'Raider' quick on draw
"Tomb Raider" stole $2.5 million on 330 in Australia (the market's 11th-best opening and UIP's sixth best) plus $1.7 million on 316 in Spain, $271,000 on 57 in Portugal and $230,000 on 30 in Israel.
"Pearl Harbor" captured $12.8 million from 5,146 screens in 28 territories, propelling cume to $93.8 million. The WWII epic fetched $835,000 on 40 in Hong Kong (a local BVI live-action record, shading "Armageddon") and $778,000 on 18 in Taiwan (slightly below "Armageddon" but 30% ahead of "Saving Private Ryan").
Michael Bay's pic eased by a reasonable 25% in Mexico, minting $5.8 million in 10 days. However, stung by the weather, pic's B.O. plunged in its third laps by 55% in France and 53% in Germany, still No. 1 in both, tallying a mediocre $7.5 million and a strong $17.9 million, respectively. South Korea's $9.4 million through the fourth round is a company record for BVI.
Steven Spielberg's "A.I." clocked $2.6 million on 284 in Japan on Saturday -- an all-time record for paid previews, knocking off "Star Wars: Episode I -- The Phantom Menace." Warner Bros.' pic, which launches Saturday on 540 screens, set no fewer than 106 house records, including a Tokyo theater where "E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial" had the crown since 1982.
"A.I." came within a whisker of taking the top spot from "The Mummy Returns," which slipped by just 16%, racking up a socko $19 million in 16 days. "The Mummy" sequel unearthed $8 million from 3,100 screens in 29 territories, hoisting cume to $168.8 million. The action adventure brought in a potent $348,000 on 60 in Poland and $330,000 on 42 in New Zealand. "Miss Congeniality" moved up to $100.2 million, helped by Japan's $4.5 million in 16 days (off 16%).
Monster mashes records
"Shrek" set the all-time toon record in Australia, eclipsing "South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut" by 25%, with $1.8 million on 212 after pocketing $2.1 million in sneaks the two previous weekends. The ogre topped "Dinosaur" to post the biggest animation preem in Turkey with $118,000 on 54, including sneaks. Thailand's $282,000 on 45 outran "The Lion King" by 48% but trailed four other Disney bows including "Dinosaur" and "Tarzan" (which launched on 84 and 78 screens, respectively). However, "Shrek" seems to have shaky legs in Italy, dropping 41% in soft trading, coining $2.2 million in 10 days.
"Dr. Dolittle 2" checked into Mexico at No. 2 behind "Pearl Harbor," ringing up $1.3 million on 349 -- Fox's seventh-highest debut, outperforming the original by 37%. The Eddie Murphy starrer notched Fox's fourth-best bows in Venezuela ($181,000 on 34) and Colombia ($162,000 on 44), but was less impressive in Singapore ($220,000 on 25).
Handled overseas by Columbia TriStar, "Evolution" led the pack in the U.K. ($2.7 million on 437, including sneaks), and looked good in the Philippines ($226,000 on 51) and Malaysia ($161,000 on 34). In all three markets, the David Duchovny starrer opened better than "The X-Files," according to the distrib.
Among the also-rans, "Pokemon 3" took a pintsize $1 million on 449 in Germany, where "Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles" took $729,000 on 480.
