'Harry Potter' strikes magic overseas

Wiz still wows abroad as Willis, robots ramp up

By DAVE MCNARY

'Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix'

Harry Potter cast his spell for a second straight weekend at the overseas box office as "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" dominated international moviegoing with $100.8 million from more than 13,000 prints in 58 markets.

Warner Bros.' fifth Potter pic has garnered $351.3 million offshore in its first dozen days -- making it the 32nd highest overseas grosser of all time -- as it combined impressive holds in the U.K., Germany and France with stellar launches in Japan and Russia. And with $558 million total, "Phoenix" now ranks 40th on the list of top-grossing films worldwide.

After posting the third-biggest foreign opening frame last weekend, "Phoenix" became only the third pic to top the $100 million mark in its second weekend along with "The Matrix Reloaded," which landed $113 million in 2003, and "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End," with $103 million seven weeks ago.

And with solid starts from "Transformers" in Latin America and "Live Free or Die Hard" in South Korea, overall foreign biz stayed in pedal-to-the-metal mode as the top three pics combined for $155 million -- dwarfing the same frame from a year ago, when "Pirates of the Caribbean 2," "Superman Returns" and "Over the Hedge" combined for $88 million. With tentpoles doing socko biz at foreign plexes, international grosses for Hollywood pics this year have run about 13% ahead of last year's pace.

"Order of the Phoenix" turned in the most magic in Japan with $18.6 million at 951 including $9.5 million in sneaks, beating the record set by "Pirates 2." "Phoenix" should show solid traction in coming frames, given that the four prior Potter pics grossed a combined $510 million in that market.

Despite the distraction of the Saturday release of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" -- the final book in the series -- Brit biz held well, down 46% to $14.2 million. German takings declined 43% to $9 million, while France slid 48% to $8.6 million.

"Phoenix" launched impressively in the red-hot Russian market with $7 million, marking Warner's biggest opening day and the top weekend among the Potter pics. Other key markets saw steeper "Phoenix" drops -- Australia took a 61% hit to $4.4 million; Mexican takings declined 60% to $3.2 million against the "Transformers" launch, and Korean biz fell 67% to $2.9 million against the "Die Hard" launch.

But Brazil held nicely with a 38% drop to $2.5 million against the "Transformers" debut, and Israel's $655,000 opening was the fourth-biggest ever.

"Phoenix" has been performing in line with studio forecasts and appears to have enough gas in the tank to match the $540 million final foreign gross for "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" -- the lowest grosser of the Potter pics and the only other to open during the summer. It will face significant competition next weekend from Fox's day-and-date release of "The Simpsons Movie" but should remain a serious draw for the rest of the summer.

Paramount's "Transformers" continued its strong foreign perf with $34 million at 4,315 in 42 territories as the actioner expanded into Latin America and outperformed previous Michael Bay pics and "War of the Worlds." Mexico led the way with $5.5 million, followed by Brazil with $2.7 million, edging the second frame of "Phoenix."

"Transformers" has topped Par's expectations with $192 million overseas without yet launching in the four biggest markets -- Japan, the U.K., Germany and France. Its global gross is a brawny $455 million.

"Live Free or Die Hard" continued to show life outside the United States with $23 million at 5,500 in 51 markets -- a 28% hike from the previous frame, thanks to a $10.9 million South Korean six-day launch that included Fox's biggest opening day in that market. The actioner showed decent traction with third-frame declines of 28% in France and 45% in the U.K.

Known as "Die Hard 4.0" outside the U.S., the Bruce Willis vehicle has managed to take in $155 million offshore without having opened yet in Brazil, Italy or Spain. It has matched Fox forecasts but won't equal the surprisingly strong $260 million foreign cume for the franchise's prior installment, "Die Hard With a Vengeance."

Paramount's other summer tentpole, "Shrek the Third," continued to tap into family markets with $10.6 million at 4,544 in 54 markets for a beefy cume of $381.4 million -- which is $97 million short of the final foreign cume for "Shrek 2."

"Hairspray" opened respectably as a counterprogrammer to "Phoenix" in a day-and-date launch in the U.K. with $4.1 million at 350.

The other major summer toon, BVI's "Ratatouille," ate up $3.4 million at 1,972 in 14 markets in holdover biz to lift the foreign take to $37.2 million. The well-reviewed pic should become a much bigger player shortly as it expands into Japan and South Korea next frame.

A trio of sequels also contributed another $6 million -- "Ocean's Thirteen" with $2.8 million at 1,100, BVI's "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" with $1.8 million at 3,587 and "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer" with $1.5 million at 2,200. "Pirates 3" has cumed $639.4 million and should pass "Pirates 2" at $641 million by next weekend to become the fourth-biggest international grosser of all time.

The only other notable biz came from U's "Knocked Up" with $1.8 million at 270 in Australia and New Zealand. Oz has generated $9 million in three weeks for the raunchy comedy, which opens next weekend in Russia.