• The Brothers Grimm continues its quest toward respectability adding $3.9 million on 1382 screens in 17 markets to its total of $55.84 million internationally. In a couple of weeks it should hit $100 million worldwide, which should be enough to save someone's job. Highlights this week include a first place debut in South Korea with $1.50 million on 159 screens over the weekend and $1.72 million including Thursday, but the film also finished in first place in the Czech Republic with $109,000 on 20 screens during its second week of release for a $230,000 running total there. The film scored $755,000 on 231 screens in its second weekend in Italy for a $2.22 million total there while in Japan it added $656,000 on 251 screens for a $7.05 million running tally.
• The Corpse Bride held up reasonably well given the competition adding $3.27 million on 2205 screens in 34 markets to its international box office of $58.12 million. The film opened in third place in Australia with $683,000 on 163 screens over the weekend and $880,000 including previews. The film is still in the top ten in a couple of major markets including South Korea where it finished in eighth place with $219,000 over the weekend and $2.44 million in total while in Italy it added $336,000 to its running total of $5.70 million.
• Elizabethtown opened in half-a-dozen more markets over the weekend but none of them were strong enough to compensate for the poor holdovers as the film fell to $3.18 million on 1978 screens in 30 markets for an international total of $18.54 million. Its best opening in terms of raw dollars was South Korea where it made $277,000 on 88 screens for seventh over the weekend and $319,000 in total but it finished in fourth place in Russia with $245,000 on 100 screens over the weekend and $270,000 since Thursday. Holdovers include Japan where the film suffered through the worst week-to-week drop-off in the top ten falling 45% to $462,000 over the weekend and $2.16 million in total.
• The Constant Gardener earned $2.88 million on 884 screens in 14 markets for a international total of $13.47 million so far. Openings include $470,000 on 138 screens in Australia and $69,000 on 23 screens in New Zealand, both fifth place finishes. The film was not as strong in its debut in the Netherlands where it scored a seventh place finish with $70,000 on 20 screens over the weekend, $91,000 including previews. As for holdovers, the film did well in Spain down just 20% to $587,000 on 195 screens for a $2.81 million run and was only marginally worse in the U.K. dropping by 27% to $1.26 million for a $4.09 million total there.
• It was almost a milestone weekend for Saw II as added $2.67 million on 768 screens in 8 markets for a $19.93 million international total, which pushed its worldwide total to $99.7 million. It easily crossed $100 million on Monday. The film opened in first place in Australia with $1.28 million on 173 screens, which was actually a weaker than expected result. Meanwhile in Turkey the film fell just 21% to $332,000 for the weekend and $941,000 during its run but in the U.K. it tumbled 63% to $484,000 on 270 screens for a running total of $11.94 million.
• The competition was particularly hard on Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit as it fell out of the top five with just $2.64 million on 2868 screens in 35 markets, however, that was still enough to lift the film's international total to $120.30 million. The film is still in the top five in the U.K. where it added $866,000 on 433 screens to its total of $53.49 million there.
• Joyeux Noel, (Merry Christmas) fell just 38% in its native French allowing it to climb into first place with $2.32 million on 522 screens, which was the vast majority of the films $2.38 million weekend haul.
• Mellisa P, an Italian film, open in first place in its native market with $2.25 million on 331 screens for the third best opening for a local film this year.
• The 40-Year Old Virgin's international run is starting to wind down with it earning $2.16 million on 1253 screens in 32 markets for an international total of $54.51 million. That is about twice as much as I would have expected the film to earn on the international scene, so the studio should be really happy. In France the film fell 46% to $722,000 on 295 screens for a two-week total of $2.20 million while in Sweden it dipped just 16% to $124,000 over the weekend and $322,000 in total.
• The French film, Les Chevaliers Du Ciel, (a.k.a. Sky Fighters) had a poor second weekend performance falling 52% to $1.95 million on 535 screens for a total of $6.44 million. Adding in Belgium and Switzerland and the film had a total of $2.05 million on 557 screens and a total of $6.74 million.
• March of the Penguins opened in Italy over the weekend and that helped the film's box office climb to $1.83 million on 713 screens in five markets for an international total of $32.16 million. Italy provided the bulk of that figure with its second place, $1.27 million total on 313 screens.
• There were no new openings for Match Point this weekend but generally favorable holdovers helped the film earn $1.81 million on 532 screens in 4 markets to its total of $12.75 million. In France the film earned $856,000 on 348 screens for a total of $8.51 million while in Belgium in climbed a couple of spots to 5th with $110,000 over the weekend and $348,000 in total.
• It was a hat trick for Always - Sunset On Third Street, which has finished first in its native Japan for three weeks in a row. This time it was down just 11% to $1.63 million on 270 screens for a running tally of $9.25 million.
• Doom is all but dead as even a major market opening couldn't help it climb on the charts this weekend earning $1.56 million weekend haul earned on 1167 screens in 33 markets for a total of $17.89 million. Nearly had of that figure came from France where the film opened in eighth place in with just $730,000 on 246 screens.
• Shadowless Sword opened in second place in its native South Korean with $1.53 million on 263 screens over the weekend and $1.73 million in total.
• Mr. Socrates fell from first to third in its native South Korea but still earned $1.45 million on 233 screens over the weekend for a total of $4.87 million so far.
• Le Petit Lieutenant opened in its native market of France scoring a third place, $1.43 million opening on 202 screens.
• A History of Violence sunk to just $1.40 million on 660 screens in 24 markets for a $17.49 million total so far. The film opened in first place in Argentina with $100,000 on 32 screens but didn't perform as well in Poland finishing in fifth place with $64,000 on 40 screens. Its best market over the weekend was still France where it added $711,000 on 243 screens to its $4.17 million total there, but it is also performing relatively well in Denmark with $175,000 on 37 screens and Belgium with $101,000 on 35 screens.
• Lord of War had opening in a couple of major markets, but disappointing results in both left the film with just $1.33 million on 481 screens in 13 markets for an international total of $11.95 million so far. In South Korea the film managed to finish in fifth place with $316,000 on 88 screens over the weekend and $360,000 in total while in Italy the film earned $479,000 on 143 screens but only managed to place sixth. Other openings include fourth place debuts in both Finland with $38,000 on 6 screens and Iceland with $20,000 on 4 screens.
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire crushed Nanny McPhee sending it plummeting 52% in its native U.K. to $1.10 million on 433 screens for a total of $27.16 million, which is probably more than the film will earn domestically.
• The South Korean film, A Moment to Remember, remained in second place in Japan with $1.10 million on 301 screens for a five-week total of $18.86 million.
• Prime made its international debut with a first place in Russia with $563,000 on 147 screens over the weekend and $625,000 including Thursday. Meanwhile, it scored a fourth place, $527,000 opening on 178 screens in Australia.
• Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang slipped down the charts with $961,000 on 375 screens in 8 markets for a total of $7.34 million so far. This week it opened in Spain but barely managed to make it in the top twenty with $55,000 on 35 screens, including previews. In the U.K. the film was down just 32% to $531,061 on 156 screens, which allowed it to climb a spot to sixth on the charts. The film hung on even better in Australia dropping by a mere 19% to $275,000 on 65 screens, but it still fell two spots to seventh.
• Into the Blue continues to fall down the charts earning just $926,000 on 655 screens in 16 markets for a total of $18.93 million so far. It hard to find any result that could be considered a highlight, but it did earn $259,000 on 232 screens in Spain, but that was down 57% from last weekend and not enough to keep the film in the top ten.
• The Italian film, La Seconda Notte Di Nozze dipped just 11% during its second weekend in its native market earning $854,000 on 241 screens for a total of $2.46 million so far.
• Oliver Twist opened in third place in Hong Kong with $146,000 on 21 screens, which is below average for the market but inline with expectations. Its best market this week was France where in added $495,000 on 293 screens to its five-week total of $8.49 million.
• The South Korean film, The Beast And The Beauty, fell 44% to $619,000 on 121 screens over the weekend for a total of $7.03 million in the market .
• Pride and Prejudice remained in fifth place in Germany with $367,000 on 297 screens for a $5.75 million run while it fell to ninth place in Australia with $205,000 on 164 screens for $4.56 million so far.
• Wolf Creek is showing strong legs in its native Australia dropping by 35% to $416,000 over the weekend and $2.92 million during its run. However, it really struggled in Italy earning just $89,000 on 53 screens, including previews.
• Four Brothers had similar sophomore session drop-offs in both Germany, (down 47% to $292,000) and Australia, (down 45% to $156,000).
• The Libertine opened in the U.K. with $477,000 on 203 screens.
• SPL, a movie from Hong Kong, opened in first place in its native market with an impressive $437,000 on 35 screens.
• An Unfinished Life opened in seventh place in Italy with $387,000 on 163 screens, which is lower than one would expect.
• The Interpreter added another $346,000 on 132 screens to its $6.17 million total in Italy and it now has over $90 million internationally.
• Crash started weaker than expected in Italy, but it held up very well losing just 22% and staying in ninth place with $344,000 over the weekend and $974,000 overall.
• Hustle & Flow opened in eighth place in Germany with $292,000 on 122 screens, which isn't a great result considering how kind the market usually is to movies with a urban target demographic. But it was miles ahead of its performance in the U.K. where it fell 60% to $41,000 on 36 screens for a two-week total of $184,000.
• The Matador opened in France but its performance was unimpressive has it could only manage $316,000 on 165 screens, and that was for the whole week.
• Must Love Dogs opened in the Netherlands over the weekend but it was nothing short of a disaster at the film earned just $33,000 on 24 screens. It's opening in New Zealand was stronger with $73,000 on 40 screens, but still not a particularly good debut. In Russia earning it dropped just 38% to $118,000 on 103 screens for a two-week total of $412,000.
• Six weeks, that's how long The World's Fastest Indian has been at the top of the New Zealand box office. This weekend it dipped by just 18% adding $215,000 on 62 screens to its $2.57 million total there. There's literally zero chance that the film will have the same kind of run stateside, but this does increase the chances that the film will be a sleeper hit.
• The Tiger and the Snow fell out of the top ten in its native Italy, but it still made $212,000 on 97 screens for a six-week total of $16.93 million in the market.
• The British film, The Descent, slipped a couple of spaces in Germany falling to 13th with $169,000 on 75 screens over the weekend and $549,000 overall.
• Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind fell 53% during its second weekend in South Korea, but it still managed to remain in ninth place with $156,000 over the weekend for a two-week total of $713,000.
• The Transporter 2 opened in fifth place in Argentina with $46,000 on 20 screens. In New Zealand it fell 51% to $45,000 on 39 screens and was no better on Poland losing 62% to $40,000 on 40 screens.
• Proof opened in Hong Kong scoring a fourth place debut with $120,000 on 12 screens.
• Serenity opened in fifth place in Iceland with $18,000 on three screens while it managed $53,000 on 12 screens in the Netherlands. During its second weekend in New Zealand the film fell 61% to $41,000 on 38 screens for a $174,000 tw-week total there.
• Dungeons And Dragons: The Elemental Might, which went direct-to-DVD here, opened in Russia with $92,000 on 46 screens over the weekend, $158,000 including Thursday.
• Valiant fell 56% during the weekend in Italy adding $67,000 to its total of $1.14 million there.
• Factotum opened in the U.K. with $64,000 on just 15 screens finishing in 14th place in the process.
• The British movie Stoned opened in its native market but only managed $58,000 on 59 screens finishing in 17th.
• 2 for the Money debuted in sixth place in Poland with $46,000 on 25 screens, which is a poor result but on par with the rest of its international run, a run that has pulled in just $1 million so far.
• Taj Mahal: An Eternal Love Story opened in semi-limited release in the U.K. but even so its $42,000 on 26 screens is disappointing.
• Revolver opened in Poland but barely made eighth place with $41,000 on 55 screens. This bodes very poorly for the film's debut here in January.
• The Cave's decent in Argentina was on par with expectations as it dropped 37% to $39,000 over the weekend and $117,000 during its run..
• Mindhunters continues to perform better than expected in Poland adding $31,000 on 48 screens to is three-week total of $304,000.
• Stealth was virtually unseen in Poland where it barely made the top ten with $31,000 on 25 screens.
• Bee Season opened in Australia with just $23,000 on 22 screens, barely enough to reach the top twenty and even weaker than it was here.
• Waiting... opened in Iceland but missed the top ten with $4200, however, it was playing in only one theatre.

Date posted: 2005-11-27