Spider-man 2 continues to wrap-up its international run has it dropped to second place with $17.5 million on 7,915 screens in more than 60 markets. The film has earned $302 so far, and should come very close to matching the original at the international box office.

Disney is breathing a sigh of relief as King Arthur's weekend take more than doubled to $11.7 million in 16 territories. During its international run so far, film has pulled in $32.2 million and should land above $100 million internationally before it is done. That's not enough for the film to be a success, but enough that nobody will lose their job over it.

Slipping another spot is Shrek 2 with $10.5 million. With just one more major opening left, (Italy) the film has earned $360 million internationally and nearly $800 million worldwide. And while is has taken top place for an animated film domestically, it will have a harder time doing so worldwide and Finding Nemo will retain top spot internationally.

In its second weekend of release in Germany, Starship Surprise - Period 1 plunged more 50% to $7.3 million. However, the parody has already made nearly $30 million in that one territory alone, more than enough for a profitable run. Adding in its box office from Austria and Switzerland and it had an estimated $10 million weekend, good enough for fifth place on the charts.

Other highlights on the international scene include:

• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban dropped out of the top five this past weekend, but it still earned $8.7 million.
• Garfield earned $2.2 million for its U.K. debut.
• A 44% drop at the English box office means Thunderbirds won't be a sleeper hit there. And it has now failed to wow them in Holland ($70 thousand) and Israel ($50 thousand.) Its total international take is just $5.5 million after two weeks of release. It will earn much more internationally than it did domestically, but that won't matter much.
• Home on the Range saw its fortunes drop in Mexico taking in just $650 thousand for its second weekend of release. In France the film made $1.6 million, which is nothing spectacular.
• Fahrenheit 9/11 earned $1.17 million in Australia for a total of $3.7 million, including the two weeks of previews.
• The Chronicles of Riddick's Australian opening was a mediocre $1.1 million. So far the film has only managed $6.1 million in 16 international markets.

Source: Variety
Date posted: 2004-08-03