Lure of laughter grows

Auds abroad add Yank chucklers to usual tentpole taste

By DAVE MCNARY

It's no joke -- U.S. comedy films are showing unexpectedly solid traction overseas.

It's counter-intuitive to the industry's long-held wisdom that foreign audiences only want action and epics with stars, such as "Troy" and "The Last Samurai" (both which topped $300 million offshore) while shunning American genres like comedy and sports.

The conventional thinking goes like this -- a comedy will only succeed overseas with star-driven blockbusters like "Bruce Almighty," family hits like "Shrek 2" or raunchy fare like "There's Something About Mary" and the "American Pie" trilogy.

But now the foreign marekts are seeing strong overseas performance from quintessentially quirky American comedies -- "Intolerable Cruelty," "50 First Dates," "Starsky and Hutch," "Along Came Polly" and even "Mean Girls."

These are films, execs note, aren't obvious candidates for success in Barcelona, Berlin and Brisbane: they aren't blockbusters that get automatic attention; and they require audiences to possess an understanding of the nuances of American life.

"People overseas may say they hate America, but they sure love the culture," notes Columbia TriStar sr. VP Jay Sands. Though foreign performance by comedies is usually dwarfed by blockbusters, positive trends keep popping up:

• "50 First Dates" has become the top-grossing Adam Sandler film overseas, topping "Big Daddy" at $71 million. It was particularly popular in romantic comedy-loving Italy.

• Despite the lack of mega-stars, the foreign cume for "Along Came Polly" matched its domestic gross at $85 million.

• Foreign grosses for a truly quirky comedy, "The Ladykillers," is on track to match its $40 million domestic gross.

• "Mean Girls" has topped $30 million overseas with openings still to come in France and Germany.

• "Intolerable Cruelty" grossed $35 million domestically and $85 million overseas. Execs scratch their heads and offer a wide variety of reasons -- the star power of George Clooney and Catherine Zeta-Jones, the popularity of the Coen brothers, the premiere at the Venice Film Festival and the cynical global view of Americans and love among the super-rich in the world of divorce lawyers.

"I really do think that 'Intolerable' did well because it lived up to the image that people have of Americans, particularly people in Beverly Hills," opines Hollywood vet Sean Daniel, an exec producer on the pic. "The characters were sleazy and greedy -- everything that foreigners think of us."

Execs contend that the trend's driven by cable and DVD making overseas audiences more familiar with other American films like comedies. "It's also due to the fact that multiplexing isnow a fact of life outside the United States, so there are a lot more choices than there used to be," one notes.

It also helps if your star's willing to hit the road. UIP prexy Andrew Cripps credits Lindsay Lohan's tubthumping in foreign markets as a major benefit for "Mean Girls," which focuses on life at a Midwest high school.

"Our demographic was clear -- girls in the 10 to 17 age range -- and they really responded," Cripps notes. "I think we connected because the film reflects what happens to girls no matter what country they're in."

The growing foreign appetite for comedy is showing up for Fox's "DodgeBall," which grossed a surprisingly strong $111 million. Foreign launch is just starting, but Fox execs project offshore grosses around $60 million -- similar to perfs from "School of Rock" and "Me Myself and Irene."

And if all breaks well, "DodgeBall" could wind up in the $100 million territory similar to "American Pie 3" and "Meet the Parents." "It's a help that it's perceived as a domestic hit, so almost every territory is keen on it," notes exec director of intl. distribution Joe Ortiz.

To maximize its appeal, Fox is emphasizing the physical side of "DodgeBall." "We're doing trailers with mostly Rip Torn throwing pipe wrenches at Vince Vaughn's team," Ortiz says.

The bottom line is that physical comedies work best, particularly in non-English-speaking locales. "Dubbing is so problematic for comedies in those markets unless it's someone like Jim Carrey," notes Camela Galano, prexy of New Line Intl.

Christine Peters, a producer on "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days," concurs that physicality is key for overseas success. She credits Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey with playing their characters clearly enough that they made sense to foreign auds, which ponied up an impressive $70 million.

But American comedy isn't yet a slam-dunk. Will Ferrell's first film, "Old School," taking in a meager $11 million in foreign, compared with $75 million domestic. His "Elf" fared far better, grossing $45 million overseas after a $178 million domestic take.

"When we were trying to set up 'Elf,' the lack of its foreign playability was a big problem," recalls producer Jon Berg. "What we heard was that Christmas movies don't play well, since so few cultures celebrate Christmas, and everyone thought Will had no international clout. So there was no calculation that there were going to be any significant foreign revenues."

Ferrell's "Anchorman," which has topped $80 million domestically, hasn't yet gone into foreign release. Key market will be the UK on Sept. 10.

Cripps admits "Anchorman" won't be easy to market due to foreign aud's unfamiliarity with the 1970s setting and the concept of an anchorman. "What's helpful for us is that Will Ferrell has become a major star," he notes.

Some of the other nuances faced by foreign marketers:

• It's particularly tough to sell American comedies in Japan, Korea and France, which are otherwise strong markets for U.S. studio fare.

• American comedies have been tending to perform especially well in Germany. "It may just be that the Germans have a profound need to laugh," one exec opines.

• Raunch works. "The Sweetest Thing" took in $24 million domestic after being marketed as a romantic comedy, then $50 million overseas after it was re-engineered as a much more raunchy film including "The Penis Song."

• Urban comedies are tough sells unless it's Eddie Murphy in a family-friendly vehicle like "Daddy Day Care," which took in $60 million foreign. "I think it shows that people are starting to get our sense of humor," notes CWM Films chief Matt Berenson, who was an exec on the film.

In short, the "nobody knows anything" aphorism applies doubly overseas. "Comedy is a funny thing, no pun intended," Ortiz muses. "I wish there was a magic formula."

The increased overseas success of comedies is also fueling increased development activity, according to UTA agent Dan Aloni, a specialist in comedy packaging. "Studios want comedies made for a price like 'Dodgeball' and 'Anchorman,' especially if they can travel well," he adds.