International Weekend: Geisha Nearly Ends Narnia's Rule
January 25, 2006
Narnia took another tumble this weekend, but without much in the way of competition it was still able to win the international box office race with $13.3 million on 7,067 screens in 48 markets.
So far the film has amassed $342.6 million at the international box office with openings in Hong Kong (this weekend) and Japan (Match 4th), yet to come.
Its best market of the weekend was France where the film added $1.8 million on 820 screens to take its total to $31.6 million after five weeks.
Its best market overall continues to be the U.K. where the film has $73.50 million, including $1.66 million this past weekend.
Worldwide the film now has $615 million, just ahead of The Passion of the Christ's final tally and into 26th place on the All-Time Charts.
Thanks to openings Australia, Spain, Germany and nearly a dozen other markets, Memoirs Of A Geisha shot into the top five on the international charts with $10.6 million on 1550 screens in 22 markets. In Spain the film finished in first place with $2.62 million on 206, while in Australia it had a nearly identical result with $2.11 million on 200 screens.
On the other hand, it had to settle for second place in Germany with $1.41 million on 206 screens.
Holdovers also helped the film's cause, especially the U.K. where it was down just 10% to $1.83 million on 278 screens for a $5.35 million running tally.
Overall, the film has now made $35.5 million internationally and should have no trouble topping its domestic total.
A first place, $3.45 million opening on 422 screens in the U.K. helped Fun with Dick and Jane climb the charts, reaching third place with $8.6 million on 2,165 screens in 31 markets for an early total of $28.8 million.
The film also finished first during its second weekend in Mexico with $1.32 million on 418 screens for a total of $4.26 million.
King Kong is really starting to drop.
It fell from second to fourth this weekend with $8.5 million on 5,055 screens in 54 markets.
It reached two milestone midweek, topping $300 million internationally and $500 million worldwide for totals of $310 million and $520 million respectively.
Given its production budget, that is the minimum necessary to cover expenses, and the studio will still be disappointed that it didn't perform better.
Rounding out the top five was Brokeback Mountain with $6.73 million on 910 screens in 10 markets for an early international total of $13.64 million.
Its best market over the weekend was the U.K., where the film added $1.89 million on 275 screens to its $8.43 million total after just three weeks there.
It also had a pair of major openings this week, debuting in second place in Spain with $1.61 million on 152 screens and in fourth place in Italy with $1.07 million on 202 screens. Smaller markets include first place starts in Taiwan with $638,000 on 95 screens, Switzerland with $156,000 on 18 and in Israel with $47,000 on 10.
Filed under: International Box Office, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, King Kong, Fun with Dick & Jane, Brokeback Mountain, Memoirs of a Geisha