Zorro Steals the Show

November 6, 2005

With The Legend of Zorro earning a nearly worldwide release this past weekend, and the imminent release of another juggernaut, there was little room for other releases this weekend on the international scene.

• After last week's weak opening, Doom has some good news earning $1.4 million on 191 screens in the first four days in Russia, finishing first in the process. It also topped the Australian charts with $1.1 million on 187 screens and came in second in New Zealand with $200,000 on 47 screens. On the other hand, it managed just a fourth place finish in Germany with $1.12 million on 299 screens. Overall the film added $4.8 million on 1043 screens in 19 markets to its international total of just $6.5 so far.
• Saw II started its international run with a third place, $3.89 million debut on 305 screens in the U.K. while is finished sixth in Japan with $678,000 on just 67 screens. The original just cracked $100 million worldwide, while this one could earn as much as $150 million.
• Oliver Twist opened in two midlevel markets but managed just $77,000 over the weekend in Russia, ($84,000 including Thursday) and performed even worse in the Netherlands with just $25,000 on 19 screens, barely making the top twenty in the process. On the other hand, the film did very well in France with $2.94 million on 547 screens, up 22% from last week's debut, while in Italy the film had the best week-to-week drop-off in the top twenty slipping by 33% to $870,000 on 292 screens.
• Match Point opened in France scoring a third place finish with $3.74 million on just 297 screens for an amazing per screen average of $12,599. This is more than three times higher than Woody Allen's previous film's debut in the market.
• Pride and Prejudice added another $2.7 million from 926 screens in eight markets to its to its $34.2 million international total. In Australia the film managed $844,000 on 229 screens for a $2.80 million total there, while in it held on slightly better making $1.06 million on 298 screens for a $2.89 million total. However, its best market overall is the U.K. where the film has manage an impressive $24.9 million, including $365,000 this weekend.
• The Tiger and the Snow remained in first place in its home of Italy with $2.22 million on 553 screens for a $12.9 million total in the market.
• The Interpreter opened in its final market scoring a second place, $2.1 million debut on 360 screens in Italy. That pushed the film's international total to $85.6 million, which is significantly ahead of its domestic run.
• Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was knocked out of top five this weekend and is out of the top ten in nearly every major or midlevel market. Exceptions includes second place finishes in Japan with $1.17 million, Greese with $380,000, and Norway with $190,000. While the film is in seventh in Italy with $290,000 and eighth in New Zealand with $20,000. Add it all up and you have $2.05 million over the weekend and $257 million internationally.
• The 40-Year Old Virgin added $2 million to is $42.6 million international box office as the film's worldwide haul rose past $150 million. It remained in the top five in Australia with $570,000 on 236 screens for a $5.5 million running tally there.
• The Brothers Grimm grew by 20% during its fourth week of release in France adding $1.64 million on 436 screens to its $9.57 million total there. On the other hand, it fell out of the top ten in Germany with $225,000 on 328 screens to its $4.00 million total.
• Into the Blue held up better than expected in both the U.K. where it was down 40% to $545,000 and in Australia where it was down 41% to $440,000. On the other hand, it fell 50% in Russia to just $250,000 and dropped out of the top ten in Germany with $260,000 for the weekend and $2.3 million during its run, which is the largest single chunk of the film's $12 million international run so far.
• Red Eye opened in France but barely made the top ten with $1.03 million on 233 screens while in Italy it plummeted 60% to just $270,000 on 143 screens.
• Broken Flowers opened in semi-limited release in Spain with $497,000 on 101 screens while it dipped by just 19% during tis second weekend in the U.K. adding $573,000 on 97 screens to its $1.70 million, two-week total. with $700,000 on just 95 screens. The film has performed better than expected with $15.8 million internationally, which is better than its domestic total.
• The Exorcism of Emily Rose opened in Australia but was less than stellar there finishing in third place with $700,000 on 207 screens. On the other hand, the film has earned $5.44 million in Italy, including $200,000 this weekend.
• In Her Shoes dropped by 26% during its third weekend in Australia adding $700,000 to its $4.1 million total there while in New Zealand it slipped just a little bit more down 29% to $85,000.
• A History of Violence opened in fourth place in Greece with $250,000 while it slipped to sixth in Spain with $510,000.
• Monster-In-Law opened in sixth place in South Korea with $$440,000 over the weekend and $510,000 overall. It also finished in sixth place this weekend in Italy adding $300,000 to its $4.57 million total there.
• March of the Penguins fell 42% during its third weekend in Germany earning $720,000 for a $4.23 million total in the market. The film now has $26.7 million internationally and $103 million worldwide.
• Sky High fell 42% during its second weekend in the U.K. landing in sixth place with $660,000 for the weekend and $2.98 million during its run.
• Hostage opened in Spain but could do no better than fifth place with $650,000 on 185 screens which pushed its international total to $41 million.
• There were no new opening for Serenity this weekend, and there won't be any till next weekend, which meant its weekend haul fell considerably. Its best market was Spain where it added $200,000 to its two-week total of $810,000 while in the U.K. the film managed $170,000 on 125 screens for a $4.6 million running tally. Adding in an estimated $150,000 from France and $60,000 in Australia and Russia and the film has $10 million internationally.
• The Pacifier opened in seventh in Japan with $550,000 on 244 screens for $85 million internationally and $198 million worldwide.
• Madagascar wrapped up its international run with a first place, $540,000 debut in Greece, ($580,000 including previews). Internationally the film has $327.7 million and nearly $521 million worldwide.
• Stealth again had the worst week-to-week drop-off in Japan losing 32% and falling to eighth place with $510,000 over the weekend. During its run the film as made $9.49 million in Japan and $42.8 million internationally.
• The Descent collapsed during its second weekend in Italy losing 78% of its opening box office while falling from 9th to 15th with just $55,000 on 42 screens, on the plus side, that wasn't the worst week-to-week drop-off there. On the other hand, the film dipped less than 20% during the weekend in France adding $445,000 to its total of $2.5 million there.
• Company 9 fell out of top spot in its native Russia, but it still added $485,000 to its $22.7 million total in the market, which makes it one of the highest grossing Russian films there of all time.
• Torrente 3: El Protector fell from second to eighth in its native Spain, but that isn't as bad as it seems as there were five new entries in the top ten there. Over the weekend the film added $480,000 to its $21.24 million running total in the market.
• An Unfinished Life lost another 36% of its box office this weekend adding $480,000 to its $2.62 million, three-week total.
• The fact that Cinderella Man fell to fifth place during its second weekend in Greece with $135,000 for the weekend and $445,000 during its run. Meanwhile, the film added another $230,000 on 211 screens in Australia to its $4.13 million total there.
• The World's Fastest Indian slipped by just 20% during its third weekend in New Zealand and earned another $350,000. So far the film has made $1.54 million, which is equivalent to a film making $100 million domestically.
• Kinky boots fell out of the top ten in its native U.K. but it was still able to add $333,000 to its $4.599 million total there.
• The Constant Gardener opened in third place in Greece with $330,000, which is the best opening in the film's $2.3 million international run so far.
• The Transporter 2 added $310,000 to its $2.6 million running tally in Spain.
• After a slow start in Spain, Goal! fell very fast plummeting 73% to $100,000 for the weekend and $540,000 during its run there. Meanwhile, it opened in fifth place in Hong Kong with $120,000 and in sixth place in Greece with $90,000.
• Wolf Creek open in its home market of Australia with a seventh place, $245,000 opening on 141 screens over the weekend, or $260,000 including previews. It's hard to get excited about that debut.
• Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang lost 45% of its opening this weekend, which is high for the market, especially for a semi-limited release. Over the weekend the film made $240,000 and now has $820,000 in the market and an estimated $4 million internationally.
• Dreamer: Inspired by a True Story dipped just 13% during second weekend in the U.K., which allowed it to climb a couple spots to 12th with $230,000. But its start was so slow that its $960,000, two-week total is nothing to be excited about.
• Four Brothers fell 40% to $140,000 on 55 screens in the Netherlands and fell 60% in the U.K. to $80,000.
• Valiant will most likely be remembered as the first digitally animated film to bomb at the box office. And the latest market where the film was a dud was Italy; there the film barely managed to snag tenth place with $210,000 on 170 screens and now has $36 million internationally.
• The Cave fell 69% during its second weekend in South Korea earning $210,000 on 106 screens for a two-week total of $1.24 million, which is a better than average result for the film's $8.8 million international.
• 2 for the Money added another $200,000 to its $735,000 total in Russia.
• Must Love Dogs fell 35% in Australia dropping from sixth to ninth with $155,000 on 138 screens, but in Italy is lost 82% during its second weekend there falling from 10th to 19th with just $34,000 on 36 screens. Overall the film has made just $12 million internationally, but should still show a profit during its initial push into the home market.
• Lord of War remained in top spot in Taiwan, which is impressive since the market is known for steep declines. The film did still drop by more than 50% to $150,000 for the weekend and $725,000 during its run.
• The Merchant of Venice has had a very strong run in semi-limited release in Spain and this weekend it continued that adding $140,000 to its $2.74 million total.
• Domino had the worst week-to-week drop-off in the top twenty in the U.K. free-falling 71% to $127,000 over the weekend and $2.14 million during its run.
• Herbie: Fully Loaded opened in sixth place in Turkey with $120,000 on 78, which is a poor result by any measure, but its $75 million internationally is better than expected.
• The Dukes of Hazzard lost more than 80% of its box office in Russia falling to 10th place with $40,000. So far the film has made $30 million internationally, mostly from the three English-speaking markets: $8.1 million in the U.K.; $7.7 million in Australia, including $60,000 this weekend; and $1.2 million in New Zealand, including $15,000 this weekend.
• Crash had the best week-to-week drop-off in the top twenty in the Netherlands dipping by just 9% to $100,000 over the weekend and $300,000 during its run.
• Little Fish had the best week-to-week drop-off in the top twenty in Australia adding $95,000 to its $2.3 million total there.
• Dark Water plummeted by 63% during its second weekend in Australia landing in 13th place with $60,000 and hung only marginally better in New Zealand where it saw its weekend take sliced in half with $22,000.
• Me and You and Everyone We Know opened in Australia with $53,500 on just 10 screens.
• Thumbsucker opened on just 9 screens in the U.K., but it earned $52,000, which was enough for the film to grab 19th place.
• Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room added another $50,000 on 22 screens to its $260,000, three-week total in the market.
• The post-holidays weekend hurt Ice Princess hard in Holland has it lost half its box office landing in 14th place with $40,000.
• The Honeymooners finished first in the United Arab Emirate with an estimated $30,000, but I have no way of explaining why the film did so well there.
• Sin City fell out of the top ten this weekend, which was the last major market for the film. It's last known box office was $7 million in the market and $85 million internationally.

Filed under: International Box Office, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Madagascar, The Pacifier, The 40 Year-old Virgin, Saw II, Monster-in-Law, The Dukes of Hazzard, La marche de l'empereur, The Exorcism of Emily Rose, Four Brothers, Sin City, The Interpreter, Herbie: Fully Loaded, Sky High, Cinderella Man, Red Eye, Crash, Must Love Dogs, The Transporter 2, Pride & Prejudice, The Brothers Grimm, Hostage, The Constant Gardener, In Her Shoes, Dreamer: Inspired by a True Story, Stealth, A History of Violence, Doom, Serenity, Dark Water, Ice Princess, Lord of War, Match Point, Valiant, Into the Blue, Wolf Creek, The Cave, Broken Flowers, The Honeymooners, Domino, An Unfinished Life, The World's Fastest Indian, Goal! The Dream Begins, Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang, Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room, Me and You and Everyone We Know, The Merchant of Venice, Oliver Twist, Thumbsucker, Little Fish, 2 For the Money