The romantic pairing -- on and off screen -- of Tom Cruise and Penelope Cruz ensured lusty but not exceptional bows for "Vanilla Sky" over the weekend, while the Brad Pitt/Robert Redford combo gave "Spy Game" a decent liftoff in Australia.
The remake of Spanish hit "Open Your Eyes" wooed $14.3 million from debuts in 21 markets and holdovers in seven territories, elevating cume to $50.1 million.
The key question for the Cameron Crowe-helmed pic will be whether it's sustained by positive word of mouth, mirroring Japan, where it has amassed a terrif $23 million through its sixth weekend; or falls sharply due to overwhelmingly negative buzz, as in Oz, where it's picked up a weak $3.7 million in five weeks.
The Paramount/UIP release brought in $4.2 million on 430 screens in the U.K., $2.6 million on 614 in France, $2.4 million on 507 in Germany, $440,000 on 71 in Belgium and $347,000 on 77 in the Netherlands. It had similarly solid debuts in Sweden, Greece, Hungary, Portugal and South Africa.
Director Tony Scott's "Spy Game" launched Down Under in third spot with $1.2 million in five days on 219. Beacon estimates its foreign cume at a handy $52.6 million.
'Eleven' on a roll
"Ocean's Eleven" cruised to $62.3 million, propelled by an estimated $10.4 million weekend heist on 2,139 screens in 17 territories. The casino caper's only significant opener was in the Philippines, where it ranked No. 1 in the Metro Manila area, fetching $324,000 on 30, outpacing "Erin Brockovich" by 80% and "What Women Want" by 23%.
The Warner Bros./Village Roadshow pic retained pole position in Spain, easing by 26%, pocketing a terrif $5.5 million to date. Among its other stellar scores are Germany's $15.3 million through its third outing, Australia's $8.2 million after its third (still No. 1 in both markets) and Sweden's $1.5 million in its second.
Fantasies still flaming
Fantasy duo "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" and "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" are far from done. New Line's "Rings" rang up an estimated $23 million from 6,538 engagements, hoisting cume to $364.3 million. Among the drivers are Italy's $11.3 million and Taiwan's $3.7 million, both in 10 days.
WB's "Harry Potter" raked in approximately $9.7 million on 5,161 screens, sending its cume to a dizzying $578.6 million. Japan's $140.8 million is the top earner, followed by Blighty's $89 million, Germany's $65.1 million, France's $43.3 million and Italy's $25.4 million.
Remarkably, "Monsters, Inc." has overtaken both "Harry" and "Rings" in Mexico, making $18 million through its seventh weekend, to rank as that market's second-highest grosser of all time, trailing "Titanic." Cume reached $50.3 million.
On the last stop on its tour of duty, "The Princess Diaries" whistled up $650,000 on 170 in Japan, on par with "Sister Act" and a fair result for a film whose genre often doesn't play anywhere near as well abroad as at home, as evidenced by its $45.5 million cume.
Fox's "Behind Enemy Lines" touched down in Spain as a distant No. 6, mustering $528,000 on 260, and dropped by 48% after a potent preem in Mexico, capturing $1.7 million to date. Sony's "Black Hawk Down" slipped by an acceptable 36% in the U.K., cuming a fine $5.2 million in 10 days.
In its first foreign tryout, Miramax's "Birthday Girl" celebrated with a pretty good $933,000 in three days on 232 in Italy, coming in second behind "Rings." That shaded French import "Amelie," which shone with an estimated $800,000 in four days on 133.
Oscar contender "In the Bedroom" collected a promising $123,000 on 16 screens in the U.K., including previews, and $98,000 through its second lap in Oz, expanding from five theaters to eight. Miramax's "Iris" eased by a mere 13% in the U.K., penning a strong $1.4 million in 10 days on 85.
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