• A first place opening in Italy helped Superman Returns return to the top ten with $4.98 million on 2846 screens in 39 markets for a total of $179.63 million. Nearly half of that came from Italy where it pulled in $2.18 million on 574 screens over the weekend and $2.99 million in total.
• The Sentinel climbed into 8th place with $4.79 million on 1459 screens in 22 markets for a total of $26.87 million. The film's best opening of the weekend, and indeed its run came from France where it finished second with $1.86 million on 269 screens, but that was for the full week. It had to settle for fourth place in the U.K. with $1.20 million on 296 screens and was similarly weak in Holland, ($202,000 on 40 screens); Sweden, ($167,000 on 40); and Turkey, ($123,000 on 60).
• You, Me & Dupree remained in first place in the U.K., and along with a first place opening in Mexico allowed it to remain flat with $4.13 million on 1117 screens in 10 markets for a total of $20.75 million internationally. The film earned $899,000 on 256 screens in Mexico, just topping the third weekend of Click while it added $2.22 million on 412 screens in the U.K. for a two-week total of $8.47 million.
• Sinking Of Japan opened in first place in South Korea with $2.76 million on 332 screens. Meanwhile it added $702,000 on 292 screens in Japan for a $41.89 million total there.
• Snakes on a Plane opened in a handful of smaller markets, but its big opening came in France where it managed just fifth place with $811,000 on 370 screens. It placed one spot higher in Belgium with $196,000 on 39 screens while it placed a mere eighth in Denmark with $60,000 on 25 screens. Overall it added $3.33 million on 1434 screens in 23 markets to its international total of $14.40 million.
• Lady in the Water fell five places to 12th with $3.22 million on 1518 screens in 25 markets for an international total of just $14.87 million. Indicative of the film's run so far was its debut in Germany, there the film could place no higher than seventh with $374,000 on 125 screens.
• Click held on very well this weekend down just 8% to $3.19 million on 1194 screens in 32 markets for a total of $35.63 million. Its best market was Mexico where is slipped to second in a very tight race with $875,000 on 419 screens over the weekend and $5.36 million in total. The film also opened in some smaller markets including Poland where it came in fourth with $119,000 on 40.
• United 93 placed 14th this weekend with $3.13 million on 1248 screens in 45 markets for a total of $33.04 million, which puts it just ahead of the film's domestic total. Much of the film's box office this weekend came from a series of smaller openings including a second place debuts in Poland with $237,000 on 47, Hong Kong with $185,000 on 16, and in Argentina with $83,000 on 20.
• Little Man flopped in Germany with just $309,000 on 119 screens just making the top ten. This is very strange as the comedic tastes of the market tend to run a little... lowbrow, and films like this tend to do well there, at least compared to other, non-English markets. On the other hand, the film opened in second place in the U.K. with $2.08 million on 313 screens, and that helped its overall box office climb to $3.09 million on 853 screens in 17 markets for a total of $11.88 million.
• My Super Ex-Girlfriend jumped up into 16th place with $2.37 million on 954 screens in 18 markets for a total of $16.44 million. This was mostly thanks to the film's first place opening in Russia where it made $947,000 on 250 screens over the weekend and $1.13 million in total while it also topped the Ukraine box office with $158,000, including previews. On the other hand, it struggled in Brazil with just $150,000 on 64 screens.
• Gwoemul, a.k.a. The Host, opened in Japan but failed to make much of an impact with just $622,000 on 215 screens, which is well below the $5000 per screen average that usually separates the hits from misses there. In its native market the film slipped to second place with $1.69 million on 308 screens for a total of $77.17 million.
• The Lake House climbed into 18th place thanks in part to a sixth place opening in South Korea, ($588,000 on 125 screens), and a first place opening in Argentina, ($148,000 on 28). Overall it made $2.03 million on 1288 screens in 38 markets for a total of $49.25 million internationally.
• No new openings left The Break-Up slipping down the charts but it did manage to snag a spot in the top twenty. Over the weekend it added $1.78 million on 1204 screens in 39 markets for a total of $70.47 million.
• Lage Raho Munnabhai started its international run in 20th place with $1.74 million on 623 screens in 17 markets; had this film opened last year with this amount, it would have been seen as a major success, but the recent run of Indian box office successes dampens the enthusiasm for its performance.
• While Gedo senki, a.k.a. Tales From Earthsea remained in first place in Japan, it fell out of the top twenty internationally. There the film made $1.70 million on 435 screens for a total of $56.64 million while adding in South Korea gave the film $1.73 million on 480 screens and a $58.34 million total.
• Volver showed incredible legs in the U.K. down a mere 9% to $753,000 on 87 screens for a two-week total of $2.40 million while retaining the best per screen average in the top ten. Given the relative sizes of the two markets, that's like the film making $12 million here, although it is very unlikely that it will do that, in fact, it might not make $2.4 million during its run here as the U.K. is a lot more accommodating to foreign language films. Overall the film added $1.64 million on 412 screens in 15 markets to its running tally of $51.77 million.
• The Wicker Man started its international run with day-and-date openings in 2 markets, the U.K. and the Netherlands. In the former it finished in third place with $1.40 million on 351 screens while in the latter it had to settle for sixth with $132,000 on 32 over the weekend and $148,000 in total.
• Crank opened day-and-date in three international markets, the U.K., Russia, and Turkey. In the first is struggled with just $857,00 on 263 screens placing eighth while the last it came in first with $162,000 on 55 screens. Meanwhile, its Russian opening was somewhere in the middle with $382,000 on 135 screens over the weekend and $451,000 in total. It's too soon to tell which of these three market it the bestr indicator of the film's long-term box office potential, but we will know more when it opens in Germany in a couple of weeks.
• Over the Hedge is coasting on holdovers at the moment but held up reasonably well added $1.35 million on 1879 screens in 25 markets to its international total of $157.66 million.
• Udon slipped to fourth in Japan with $1.35 million on 284 screens for a two-week total of $4.96 million.
• Hoodwinked! added another $1.30 million on 574 screens in 7 markets to its total of $32.98 million. Much of that came from Mexico where it was down a tiny 9% to $872,000 on 256 screens lifting its running tally in the market to $2.27 million. While the film's opening there was disappointing, legs like this could save its run.
• Thank You For Smoking returned to the international charts with a 28th place, $1.27 million box office earned on 457 screens in 12 markets. The film's biggest market this week was Italy where it opened in fifth place with $318,000 on 168 screens, which is a very disappointing start given the markets affinity for films like this. So far the film has made $6.13 million, mostly from limited or semi-limited releases, with openings in major markets like France and Spain just around the corner.
• Like a Virgin opened in third place in South Korea with $1.23 million on 212 screens over the weekend and $1.44 million in total.
• No Mercy for the Rude fell to fourth in South Korea with $1.18 million on 220 screens over the weekend and $4.62 million in total.
• Selon Charlie, which is being reported as Charlie Says and not the Salon Charlie I mentioned last week, (seven years of high school French and I still can't speak the language) ... moving on. The film fell 51% during its second week in France adding $907,000 on 358 screens for a two-week total of $2.74 million.
• The Devil Wears Prada opened in Singapore and the Philippines over the weekend taking in a combined $713,000. Adding in its run in Puerto Rico and the film has made $1.42 million internationally.
• Silent Hill opened in first place in Australia but only managed $568,000 on 139 screens, which is equivalent to $6 million on 1400 screens here. It was even weaker in neighboring New Zealand where it landed in third with $86,000 on 28 screens. Overall the film has made $46.33 million internationally and should top its domestic total shortly.
• Barnyard: The Original Party Animals started its international run with a fourth place, $122,000 opening on 17 screens in Singapore. This is the best opening ever for a Nickelodeon film topping SpongeBob SquarePants.
• An Inconvenient Truth started its international run with $11,119 on one screen in Thailand, which is a record for biggest opening for a documentary in that market.
• The 40-Year Old Virgin finally opened in Japan, it's last market, earning $6600 on one screen. The film has now made $67.88 million internationally and should have the legs to climb all the way to $67.89 million before long.

Date posted: 2006-09-10