'Big' film finds big box office
Local comedy scores in Italy
"Verdone" scored mightily in Italy, pulling $7.8 million from 703, in an otherwise flat frame. Big bow was expected but still warmly welcomed by local industryites.
A veteran B.O. champ, Verdone also tallied the Italo frame's highest per-screen average -- $11,000 -- with his assemblage of skits revolving around revived stock characters from his previous pics, including a Roman goon and an anal professor.
Besides confirming Verdone's fine form, the successful saturation release via Aurelio De Laurentiis' Filmauro also further attests to Italy's current appetite for homegrown fare.
Revisionist Cinderella toon "Happily N'Ever After" opened at $541,000 from 168, a decent bow for the U.S.-German 3-D pic, released via local distrib DNC.
In the niche trenches, Gallic feelgood fantasy "Odette Toulemonde" also bowed okay with $90,000 from 26 screens via Warner Bros.
As for holdovers, "No Country for Old Men" slid 35% in its third frame, dropping from first to second place, with $1.3 million from 311 via Universal and a $6.4 million running cume.
"Jumper" plunged 45% in its second frame for $1 million off 301 and a $3.2 million cume to date via Fox.
In a fairly subdued U.K. frame, three openers took the top three chart positions.
Political assassination thriller "Vantage Point" shot its way to top spot at the U.K. B.O., taking $2.9 million at 350 screens via Sony. Result was North of booker's pre-release projections.
Bodice ripper "The Other Boleyn Girl" also performed slightly over modest expectations. The Universal release banked $1.9 million at 318, despite frosty reviews. Potential date movie is expected to play well weeknights, even though early word of mouth is not excellent, according to exhibs.
Family pic "The Game Plan" took third spot with $1.5 million at 280, via Disney, a decent result given ex-wrestler The Rock is not a big star in Blighty.
Colin Farrell starrer "In Bruges" hit paydirt in its Irish launch, taking almost $700,000 at just 70 screens via Universal. Impressive screen average of $9,887 was a weekend top 15 best.
Of the holdovers, Roger Donaldson's London-set crime caper "The Bank Job" held well in its soph sesh, dipping 30% to $1.3 million and a $4.3 million running take for Lionsgate U.K.
In France, Danny Boon's "Bienvenue Chez les Ch'tis" is nothing short of a cultural phenomenon. Off just 11% in its second frame after an all-time record breaking first week, its cume now stands at a staggering $75.5 million for Pathe.
Wartime espionage thriller "Les Femmes de l'ombre" (Female Agents) bowed reasonably for TFM on a tough track for openers, taking $2.2 million on 469 in its first five days.
Helmer Cedric Klapisch's all-star study of ordinary Parisians, "Paris," dropped 48% on the week in its third frame and has cumed $12.1 million for Mars.
French fare also took fourth spot, with helmer Pierre Morel's hostage/spy caper "Taken" (toplining Liam Neeson) making EuropaCorp nearly $4.2 million after two frames.
In Germany, "10,000 BC" from Warner Bros. opened top with $2.9 million from 729 screens.
Nature doc "Planet Earth" from Universum/Disney held tight at number two, dipping 30% to pull $2.3 million from 421 locations. Cume now stands at $12.7 million.
This week's admissions tipped "Earth" over the two million mark, beating the total German admissions of hit doc "March of the Penguins" after only five weeks. Germany has proved the best territory for the eco doc, trumping 1.4 million admissions to date in France and 1.9 million in Japan.
"Step Up 2 the Streets" from Constantin, jigged into third place, earning $2 million from a modest 245 screens, which gave it the top per-screen average of the week: $8,064.
Oscar champ "No Country for Old Men" (Universal) raked in the week's second highest per-screen average of $5954, nailing $946,769 from only 159 locations for a two-week Teuton total of $2.7 million.
Also buoyed up by strong per-screen attendance was domestic entry "Kirschbluten -- Hanami" (Cherry Blossoms) from Majestic/Fox, which floated into the charts at number nine with $654,374 from 111 locations.
In Spain, Warner's "10,000 BC" came out comfortably on top, gobbling up $4.5 million from 472 prints at a top-notch copy-average of $8,998. Strong perf matched most Spanish bookers' upbeat pre-release expectations.
Fox's romantic comedy "27 Dresses" held second spot thanks to a strong hold. The Katherine Heigl starrer dropped off only 22% to $1.3 million and a $3.3 million total.
Sony's "The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep" debuted at number four with $985,456 from 200, scoring the second-best per-screen average: $5,199.
"Vantage Point" lost gas in its second sesh with a 53% drop. The Pete Travis thriller took $1 million for a $3.8 million cume in its second frame. "It's a significant drop, but this is no surprise with this kind of thriller," suggested a local exhibber.
Among veteran holdovers, Fox's "Juno" continued its long-legged run, sliding a respectable 30% in its sixth frame for a $6.4 million cume. "If it carries on like this, 'Juno' will stay in theaters for nine months," joked an exhib.
Additional reporting by Andrew Horn (Germany), Emilio Mayorga (Spain), Nick Vivarelli (Italy) and David Hayhurst (France) .
