Solid but less-than-spectacular performances dominated the foreign box office during the post-Easter period that saw "
The Ring Two," "
Hitch" and "
Robots" generate moderate grosses.
Distribs and exhibs noted the current pattern is in keeping with the traditional level of business during the period between spring vacations and the start of the summer blockbuster launches in early May. Last year proved an exception, with "The Passion of the Christ" generating a significant uptick worldwide in the April box office.
Conversely, the focus on the death of Pope John Paul II dampened moviegoing, mostly notably in Italy where business was off 37% from the previous frame. In Rome, some audience members heard the news and asked for refunds as they departed theaters. "I can't say what the percentage is, but it certainly must have hurt business," one Roman exhib noted.
The events in the Vatican contributed to softening biz in the Gallic market, down 23%, and in Spain, where grosses declined 9%. German takings were down 6.2%, with sunny weather fingered as the culprit.
UIP's "The Ring Two" easily led the weekend, thanks mostly to No. 1 launches in the U.K., Germany, Spain and Argentina. As of April 6, the sequel's cume had hit a respectable $37 million in more than three dozen territories.
In the U.K., where overall biz was up 5%, reaction among exhibs was somewhat muted, even though "Ring Two" posted an 11% gain over the original's $3.48 million opening in 2003. Bookers said expectations for the sequel, which grossed $3.86 million, had been elevated due to strong recent performances by similar fare such as "Boogeyman" and "Saw."
In Spain, reaction to "Ring Two" was more upbeat, as the sequel nearly doubled the take of the original's opening weekend. "Horror sagas, like 'Scream' or 'I Know What You Did Last Summer' always play well in Spain, and it was a long time since we had one," one exhib said.
German exhibs were similarly enthused over "Ring Two" and pointed to its predecessor's popularity on DVD.
French audiences showed respectable support for the horror sequel, with ticket sales up 30% from the original.
"
Million Dollar Baby" continued to take advantage of its Oscars with a second straight weekend victory in France and a 12-day cume of $8.26 million. Foreign cume for "Baby" as of April 5 was $73.5 million.
Will Smith starrer "Hitch" remained a sturdy player around the globe, with its cume passing $152 million April 5, topped by $29 million in Germany. In its fifth weekend, "Hitch" managed to take in double the gross of the soph sesh of "
Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous"; in the U.K., the fifth frame of "Hitch" was 50% higher than the second frame of "Congeniality 2."
One Teuton exhib said "Hitch" offered a more original and appealing premise for a broader audience than the Sandra Bullock starrer, which he said looked like a retread of the first "Miss Congeniality."
" 'Hitch' has appealed to both male and female viewers thanks to Will Smith," the exhib added. "It's a great date movie, but also works as a comedy. 'Miss Congeniality' comes off more as an attempt to cash in on the first film's success, and people see that."
Sequel has cumed $25.85 million offshore as of April 6.
Fox's "
Robots" stayed steady, as its third weekend defeated "Miss Congeniality 2" in Germany, Spain and the U.K. Foreign cume reached $71.1 million as of April 6.
The respectable returns for "Robots" bodes well for BVI's "
The Pacifier" to mine family coin as it launches in Europe in coming weeks. Vin Diesel vehicle has performed decently in a limited run in Oz.
"
Be Cool," which posted a moderate $54 million domestically, showed little spark in its German opening and modest returns in the U.K. Foreign cume for the "Get Shorty" sequel totaled $13.4 million as of April 6.
U.K. saw impressive results for "
The Downfall," with the Hitler bunker pic taking in $305,582 from just 49 with a screen average of $6,236, making it the best-ever German-lingo opener in the territory, replacing "Good Bye, Lenin!"
Exhibs are already starting to focus on summer tentpoles, as promo campaigns begin launching for "Star Wars: Episode III," "Madagascar," Steven Spielberg-Tom Cruise's "War of the Worlds," "Fantastic Four" and Ridley Scott's "Kingdom of Heaven." Fox is launching "Kingdom of Heaven" in many foreign markets on May 6, coinciding with the date of the domestic opening.
"'Kingdom of Heaven" should have similar box office to 'Troy' and 'Gladiator' and other epic movies turning on European history," hopes a Spanish booker.
Ed Meza in Berlin, Sheri Jennings in Rome, Liza Klaussmann in Paris, Esther Prado in Madrid and Archie Thomas in London contributed to this report.
Contact Dave McNary at
dave.mcnary@variety.com