Competition Crumbles under Alien Invasion

July 10, 2005

With the last of this summer's worldwide releases opening last weekend, the international details are once again dominated by smaller films. And to compound matters, most of those are only making noise in one of two markets. However, over the next few weeks there are plenty of big films opening in big markets and the International Details column should start showing signs of life soon.

• Les Poupees Russes, a.k.a., The Russian Dolls, held onto second place in France with $2.05 million over the weekend and $11.6 million during its run. The film should finish its run the market with about the same total box office as Madagascar, which is a great result.
• Sin City opened in fourth place in South Korea with $750,000 on 121 screens, ($910,000 including midweek / previews.) The film is also doing well in the U.K. with $237,000 and France $430,000 pushing its overall international box office to $35.1 million. And the film is far from done with Australia coming up next weekend and Spain and Germany in mid-August.
• Herbie: Fully Loaded grew by 21% during its second weekend in Australia minting an additional $1.17 million over the weekend for a $3.33 million total so far. The film also opened in New Zealand in fifth place with $85,000, ($120,000 including previews.)
• A Lot Like Love fell 39% during its second weekend in the U.K. to $450,000 while it rose 4% in Germany to $380,000. Its international box office now stands at $11.6 million, which is disappointing even given its low production budget.
• The Amityville Horror slipped a couple of places in France to 8th spot with $550,000 for a $2.23 million running tally. On the other hand, the film could manage no better than ninth place in its opening in South Korea with $215,000 over the weekend, ($263,000 in total.) The film has been struggling internationally and has only managed $21.3 million so far.
• Sahara fell to just $484,000 during its second weekend in South Korea for a $2.0 million running tally in there. It also opened in South Africa managing $250,000 on 60 screens for a third place debut. Worldwide the film has made $115 million, which is still below its production budget.
• Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy hit $1 million in Russia thanks to a $70,000 weekend, which is close to what Batman Begins has earned there. In Germany the film slipped a tiny 5% to $640,000 for a $5.96 million running tally in the market. Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy has now made $40.0 million internationally and should surpass its domestic box office shortly.
• Monster-In-Law slipped to seventh place in France with $630,000 for a $2.6 million two-week total. The film dropped slightly faster in New Zealand to $75,000 for a $260,000 two-week total. That helped lift the film's international total to $27.9 million with openings in Australia and many midlevel markets yet to come.
• The French film, L'Amour aux Trousses, opened in fifth place in its native country with $680,000 in 351 theatres. It also opened in Belgium but missed the top ten landing at 14th place. As for the name, I believe it mean Love of the Pants, but I'm almost certainly wrong.
• The Interpreter added $550,000 to the $5,300,000 its earned at the French box office, which will probably be the last weekend the film spend in the top ten there.
• Kung Fu Hustle plummeted in Russia failing 58% to $92,000. In the U.K. it was even worse with a drop-off of 61% to $325,000 while in France the film disappeared losing 77% to land at $175,000. The film is still inching its way to $100 million worldwide with $77.77 million internationally, but its still $5 million back with Australia as its only major market left.
• The Pacifier dropped out of the top ten in France but still managed to add an estimated $350,000 to its $4.3 million total in the market. The film now has $81 million internationally and is climbing to $200 million worldwide.
• The Longest Yard had the worst week-to-week drop-off in Australia falling to $320,000. So far the film has only opened in the top markets, (Australia and Mexico) and has made $10.3 million between them. It won't open in most major markets till the fall but it is unlikely to make much of an impact outside of English speaking markets.
• Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants expanded to the rest of Australia adding $300,000 from 113 screens to its $566,000 total there. That's the film's only international market at the moment, and it won't open in another major market till August when it makes its British debut.
• Pooh's Heffalump Movie continued to expand in Australia growing by 184% to $225,000, which would have been more impressive had the film not had such a slow start.
• Racing Stripes opened in third place in Norway with $52,000 in 31 theatres over the weekend, $71,0000 total. In Spain the film slipped to sixth place with $171,000 in 294 theatres; on the one hand its 43% drop-off was the second best in the top ten, on the other hand its $582 pre theater average was the worst in the top ten.
• Paheli fell by 45% in Australia to just $24,000 and 43% to $195,000 in the U.K.
• Melinda and Melinda saw its fortunes frow by 7% in Germany rising to $160,000 for the weekend. The film now has $14.7 million internationally, $4.5 million of that coming from Spain.
• My Summer of Love had its first full weekend of release in Australia earned $50,000 on 16 screens to go along with the $17,000 is made in previews last week. In Germany the film earned $76,000 in 41 theaters, but just missed the top ten.
• Guess Who climbed from sixth to third this weekend despite falling from $240,000 to $100,000 at the box office. That pushed the film's box office to $445,000 in Russia and $18.5 million internationally.
• Cursed flopped in France earning less than $100,000 for the week.
• Unleashed opened in Japan the week before last in fifth place and slipped to seventh this weekend, but unfortunately box office numbers for those weeks are not available. We do know the film made $45,000 in Holland and $35,000 in Taiwan for a $16.4 million international box office so far.
• The Beat My Heart Skipped made $24,000 on just 5 screens in its debut in Australia, $44,000 including previews.
• DiG! earned just $25,000 on 13 screens in its debut in the U.K.
• SpongeBob SquarePants grabbed ninth place during its opening in Sweden with $25,000 on 20 screens.
• Undead died during its debut in Italy bringing in just $11,000. But it wasn't the only new film to struggle this week in that market.
• Pieces of April managed just $10,000 on 28 screens in Italy.
• Ella Enchanted earned just $7,000 during its debut in Italy.
• Rock School made just $2,000 on 9 screens in Australia, not nearly as strong as I would have expected.
• Million Dollar Baby is still in the top ten in Japan finishing ninth on the chart this weekend, falling two spots since last weekend. Unfortunately, box office numbers for Japan were not available this week.

Filed under: International Box Office, The Longest Yard, The Pacifier, Million Dollar Baby, SpongeBob SquarePants: The Movie, Monster-in-Law, Sin City, The Interpreter, Guess Who, Sahara, Herbie: Fully Loaded, The Amityville Horror, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Racing Stripes, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, Danny the Dog, Ella Enchanted, A Lot Like Love, Cursed, Pooh's Heffalump Movie, Kung Fu Hustle, Melinda and Melinda, Pieces of April, My Summer of Love, Dig, Rock School, Undead