O'seas auds hoist sales
Boffo B.O. puffs BVI's 'Chest'
More Articles:
Most Viewed:
'New Moon' breaks box office records(6423 views)'Avatar' toys with augmented reality(2557 views)Spielberg, King team on 'Dome'(2464 views)Ever capable entrepreneur(1814 views)Planet 51(1636 views)'Oprah' to end run in 2011(1476 views) |
Meanwhile, Warner's second frame of "Superman Returns" slid 55% to $9 million from 1,800 prints in 14 markets.
BVI's international booty for "Pirates," which lifted the worldwide take to $178.6 million, portends a massive offshore performance for the sequel since the seven territories -- Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, U.K. and Uruguay -- represent just 24% of overseas capacity.
The take also signals foreign biz should easily recover from the monthlong chill from soccer's World Cup, during which distribs have limited European launches. "These early results are a testament to the vitality of the international marketplace when it delivers a film with this much anticipation," said BVI veep David Kornblum.
Three other films -- "Over the Hedge," "Cars" and "Mission: Impossible 3" -- topped $12 million internationally.
Overall biz lagged the same frame of 2005, when the second weekend of "War of the Worlds" led with $60.5 million.
"Pirates" eclipsed the combined take from launches of other recent hits in the same seven markets, besting "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" by $1 million. The 2003 launch of "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl" drew just $12.3 million in the same markets; pic went on to gross nearly $350 million internationally and more than $650 million worldwide.
"Pirates" opened impressively in the U.K. with $25 million at 514 engagements, including previews, as BVI opted for a day-and-date launch rather than wait for the end of the World Cup. Sequel's bow represented the biggest Brit opening of 2006, beating "The Da Vinci Code" by 43% and benefiting from massive coverage of the glitzy July 3 preem in London.
"Dead Man's Chest" set a South Korean launch record with $9 million at 350, taking in four times Warner's soph sesh for "Superman Returns," which declined 45% to $2.2 million at 271.
In Australia, "Chest" grabbed $8.1 million at 281, more than double the original and five times the second frame of "Superman Returns," which fell 62% to $1.5 million at 409. It was the same story in Taiwan, where "Chest" grossed $1.9 million at 18 while "Superman Returns" dropped 68% to $321,000; in Thailand, with "Pirates" taking $1.4 million at 110 and "Superman" falling 60% to $486,000; and in New Zealand, with "Pirates" taking $1.2 million and the Man of Steel off 41% to $223,000.
"Pirates" will launch next weekend in Indonesia, Holland, Malaysia, the Philippines, Russia, Scandinavia, Singapore and Turkey, while "Superman Returns," with a foreign cume of $35.4 million, moves into Brazil, France, Mexico and the U.K.
UIP's "Over the Hedge" and BVI's "Cars" continued to find family coin amid summer vacations and combined for close to $35 million during the weekend. The rival CGI toons have totaled $125 million overseas, mostly as World Cup counterprogrammers so far.
"Over the Hedge" grabbed $20 million at 4,376 sites in 36 markets, seeing No. 1 openings in Germany with $4.1 million at 800, in Mexico with $3 million at 403 and in France with $2.7 million at 713. The German opening revived what had been a moribund market as it came in eight times better than last weekend's No. 1 pic, "The Da Vinci Code."
Despite the "Pirates" competition, "Hedge" stayed even in the U.K. with its launch weekend, clipping $3.5 million at 501 for a $12.1 million cume. And in Australia, it declined only 28% to $1.2 million at 244.
"Cars" showed traction with $14.6 million at 4,428 playdates in 31 markets, led by a first-place Spanish launch of $3.7 million at 350, on par with "Madagascar." Its Mexican soph sesh fell 58% to $1.8 million at 760 as "Hedge" opened, but its second Brazilian frame rose 20% to $1.5 million at 384.
UIP's "Mission: Impossible 3" dominated in its Japanese launch with $12.5 million at 800, including previews, 2% better than the opening of "Mission: Impossible 2," which went on to gross $84.9 million in Japan. Tom Cruise, Keri Russell and director J.J. Abrams came to Japan to tubthump two weeks ago.
"MI3," which will open later this month in China, has cumed $219.5 million overseas and $352 million worldwide.
UIP's "The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift" drove to a moderate $4 million at 1,650 playdates in 23 markets, raising foreign cume to $32.5 million, with launches next weekend in Germany and Italy.
"The Da Vinci Code" tacked on $3.6 million at 3,000 screens to push its international take to $514.7 million and the worldwide total to $736 million.
Warner's "Poseidon" stayed lukewarm with $3.2 million from 3,000 prints to push foreign cume to $102 million and the worldwide take to $161 million, with launches ahead in Germany and Spain. UIP's
"The Break-Up" remained moderate with $2.2 million at 1,300 for a cume of $21.8 million in 17 markets; it hasn't opened in Germany, Italy, Spain or the U.K.
UIP's "United 93" took in a modest $1.2 million at 525, including an Italian launch of $700,000 at 199, lifting foreign cume to $9.3 million from eight markets.
Fox's "Garfield: A Tale of Two Kitties" took in $1.2 million, including a first-place $550,000 at 37 in Hong Kong; Sony's "Click" grossed $1.1 million at 307; and Fox's "X-Men: The Last Stand" pulled in $1 million to lift foreign cume to $205.5 million.
(Archie Thomas in the U.K. and Mark Schilling in Japan contributed to this report.)
