Up retains the overseas crown as $19m boosts tally to $324m

25 October, 2009 | By Jeremy Kay

Disney/Pixar’s Up dominated the Hollywood competition overseas for the third straight weekend thanks to an estimated $19m haul from 4,789 screens in 26 territories that propelled the running total to $324.2m.

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International (WDSMPI) films grossed almost $35m in total as G-Force added $8m, Surrogates took a further $3.7m, and The Proposal crossed $150m.

The highlight from the other studios was Sony’s romantic comedy The Ugly Truth, which crossed $100m just in time before Sony unleashes the Michael Jackson tribute film This Is It in 108 territories next weekend.

* Returning to WDSMPI, Up has now amassed $617m worldwide and is currently tracking 5% ahead of the entire run of Wall-E. The film stayed top in seven territories, led by the UK where $4.8m from 750 screens maintained pole position for the third consecutive weekend and raised the tally to $30.3m, tracking comfortably ahead of Ratatouille and Wall-E now.
* Elsewhere Up stayed top in Italy where $4.8m for $14.6m means it already overtaken Wall-E’s entire run. In Holland $2m from 193 for $6.4m has passed Wall-E’s final total, while $2.8m from two weeks in Poland, $3.7m from three in Belgium and $760,000 from 180 for $2.3m in Sweden kept Up high above the competition.
* After six weekends in Germany Up added $1.4m from 660 sites for $26.2m, again beating the entire run of Wall-E.

G-Force’s $8m weekend haul from 3,013 screens in 35 territories raised the tally to $138.9m and pushed the global running total to $257.2m.

The family action film ranked third place in Germany as $2.8m from 527 cinemas raised the total to $8.8m after two. It added $1.8m in France from 49 for $5.2m after two and $1.6m in Spain from 461 for $9.4m. Scheduled releases include China on November 24, South Korea on December 1 and Japan on March 20, 2010.

Surrogate sadded $3.7m from 2,244 screens in 31 countries for $52.5m and the sci-fi thriller opens next weekend in France and Portugal. Romantic comedy hit The Proposal added $900,000 from 870 in 21 markets for $150.7m and stands at $314.5m worldwide.

* The $7m haul for Sony Pictures Releasing International’s animated family release Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs came from 2,905 screens in 50 markets and raised the tally to $43.3m.
* Weekend business was dominated by a number one $3m number one debut in Russia from 443 screens and a $1.2m number four launch in France from 631.

The Ugly Truth generated $5.8m from 2,043 screens in 64 markets to push it over the $100m mark and settle on $102.4m. Spain led the holdovers on $2m from 357 for $5.2m after two and Germany produced a further $1.3m from 514 for $13.2m after four.

Sony’s lighthearted drama Julie & Julia added $3.3m from 1,155 screens in 40 markets for $20.9m and opened in fifth place in Italy on $850,000 from 155. Greece delivered second place on $340,000 from 40 and New Zealand produced a $300,000 number one launch from 68.

Sci-fi hit District 9added $3.1m industry-wide for $82.6m. Of that, $63.7m comes from Sony territories. The Taking Of Pelham 123 grossed $2.6m from 1,955 screens in 30 markets and stands at $83.5m. The thriller remake opened in China on $2m from 1,190 screens for an unconfirmed ranking.

Sony’s road movie-horror Zombieland added $1.2m from 480 in its first ten territories for an early $8.9m. The mayhem visited Scandinavia, taking $130,000 in Sweden from 22 for fourth place, $105,000 in Denmark from 20 for fifth place, and $100,000 in Norway from 11 for fifth.

Mandate International’s Saw VI grossed $5m from its first day-and-date weekend and full figures are expected this week.

Universal/UPI’s Inglourious Basterds is closing in on $175m after $4.5m from 2,640 sites in 50 elevated the running total to $173.5m. Despite poor weather the film launched at the top in South Africa on $140,000 from 59. The next release will be South Korea on October 29 and Japan is the final market on November 20.

* The comedy Couples Retreat added $3.9m from 950 in seven for an early $17.2m. The UK was the key driver, ranking fourth after $1.5m from 380 boosted the total to $5.9m. The second weekend in Russia produced $1m from 280 venues for $3.1m after two and Couples Retreat has already overtaken the lifetime totals of Wedding Crashers ($1.4m), The Break-Up ($1.8m), and You, Me And Dupree ($1.9m).
* In Australia in its third weekend the film moved up to number one as $1.1m from 195 venues boosted the total to $7m. Couples Retreat opens in seven next weekend including Germany and Mexico.

Cirque Du Freak opened day-and-date with North America in three territories, grossing $2.9m from 685 venues. The UK generated $1.4m in third place from 383, while Russia produced second place for the action adventure on $1.4m from 280.

Fast & Furious continued as the top Hollywood release in its third weekend in Japan and stands at $8.2m. By Monday the film is expected to have overtaken Tokyo Drift to become the biggest in the action franchise. The international running total is $204.2m.

The Ricky Gervais romantic comedy The Invention Of Lying ranks seventh in the UK after four weekends and stands at $8.9m.

Fox International’s Fantastic Mr Fox opened third in the UK on $2.5m from 482 sites and should propser heading into half-term holidays.

Spanish hit Agora added a further $2.8m from 472 screens in its homeland for an outstanding $21m running total. Comedy-horror Jennifer’s Body added $1.9m from 837 screens for $7.3m and staked a claim to fourth place in its opening weekend in France on $1.1m from 211 screens.

The indie romance 500 Days Of Summer added $1.8m from 637 screens in 17 for $17.5m, while the comedy All About Steve had a forgettable launch in Australia on $520,000 from 180 screens. The local German film Wuestenblume took an additional $556,000 from 370 screens in Germany for $7.8m.

Warner Bros. and local distribs continue to see solid results for 3D title "The Final Destination," which placed No. 8 for the weekend, grossing $5.4 million in its eighth week in release from 1,715 playdates in 50 territories. Foreign cume is $103 million, well ahead of the domestic total of $66.1 million. Worldwide haul is $169.1 million.

"Fame" redo grossed an estimated $5.3 million for the frame to come in No. 9. MGM distributed in the U.S., but foreign rights to the film were sold off. Foreign cume is $35.1 million, while pic has only grossed $21.9 domestically. Worldwide total is $57 million.

King of Pop reigns overseas as This Is It launches on $68.5m

1 November, 2009 | By Jeremy Kay

The Michael Jackson tribute film This is It dominated the international market with the fifth biggest launch of the year thanks to a $68.5m weekend haul through Sony Pictures Releasing International (SPRI) from 9,200 screens in 108 markets.

Combined with the $32.5m number one North American launch the film has amassed $101m globally within its first week.

* Number one launches occurred in almost every market, led by $10.4m in Japan from 332, $7.6m in the UK from 806, $6.3m in Germany from 930, $5.8m in France from 483 and $3.6m in Australia from 284.
* Elsewhere This Is It took $3.2m in China from 2,100, $2.9m in Italy from 526, $2.6m in Spain from 378 in a number two launch, $2.1m in Holland from 107, $1.6m in Mexico from 402, and $1.58 in Brazil from 202.
* In other notable results the film took $1.5m in Sweden from 82, $1.2m in Denmark from 63, $1.1m in Belgium from 63, $1.04m in Poland from 86, $1.03m in Switzerland from 79, $1.02m in Norway from 59, $1m in Russia from 171 in third place, $835,000 in New Zealand from 76.
* Venezuela generated $825,000 from 65, Austria $780,000 from 119, Greece $710,000 from 80, the Czech Republic $655,000 from 47, the Philippines $615,000 from 104, and Hong Kong $495,000 from 34.

Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs added $4.9m from 2,645 screens in 43 markets for $52.2m, The Ugly Truthboosted its score by $3.4m from 1,710 in 57 to $107.4m, and Julie & Julia added $2.1m from 975 in 40 for $24.6m. District 9 has amassed $84.5m through all distributors.

Any disappointment Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International (WDSMPI) chiefs may have felt after Up was usurped from its number one spot by This Is It will not have been long-lived as the Pixar release continued its magnificent run and crossed $350m.

* Up added $12.8m from 4,700 screens in 27 territories for $352.7m with Japan still to come in December. The film will overtake Angels And Demons by Monday to become the year’s fourth biggest overseas release behind Ice Age 3, Harry Potter 6 and Transformers 2.
* Up stayed top in the UK for the fourth straight weekend in a row as $5.4m from 770 raised the tally to $47m and confirmed it as the sixth biggest Disney animated release of all-time. It ranked fourth in Italy on $2.5m from 739 for $18.6m after three weekends and has grossed nearly 40% more than the entire run of Wall-E.
* A further $1.2m from 334 in the Benelux raised the running total to an excellent $11.4m. Up ranked fourth in Germany and has taken $27.5m there after seven.

WDSMPI releases amassed more than $30m in total this weekend. G-Forcegrossed a further $6.1m from 2,735 screens in 32 territories for $148m internationally and $267m worldwide. The family action-adventure generated a further $2.5m in France from 510 for $9.6m after three, $1.5m in Germany from 536 for $10.8m after three, and $980,000 in Spain from 446 for $10.7m after 0ne month.

G-Force is set to launch in China on November 24, South Korea on January 21 2010, and Japan on March 20, 2010.

Surrogates added $6.1m from 1,963 screens in 38 territories for $60.3m with German-speaking Europe, Italy and Japan still to come. The sci-fi thriller opened as the top US title in France on $3.7m from 425.

WDSMPI reported an excellent debut for Disney’s first local Russian production Book Of Masters. The fantasy adventure is in the vein of the Chronicles Of Narnia films and opened top on $5.2m from 750 sites for the biggest family oriented release in history and the 12th biggest debut for a Russian title.

Universal/UPI’s Inglourious Basterds will cross $300m worldwide any day now after the wartime saga added $3.9m from 2,400 venues in 50 territories to bring the international tally to $179.5m and the global result to $299m.

Quentin Tarantino scored a personal best in South Korea as the film debuted in third place on $970,000 from 211. There are five territories to go including Japan on November 20.

The comedy Couples Retreat grossed $2.3M from 1,010 in 11 for $21.9m and has 50 territories to release go. The key driver thus far have been Australia on $8.3m after four weekends and the UK on $7.7m after three.

Cirque Du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant grossed $1.9m from 987 in four for an early total of $7M. The fantasy adventure took $500,000 from a third place launch in 300 Mexican theatres and stands at $3.7m in fifth place in the UK after two weekends.

The animated adventure 9 opened in eighth place the UK on $750,000 from 300 and Universal’s running total from the UK and earlier releases in Russia, Ukraine and others is $6.1m. Universal holds rights in the upcoming territories of Spain (January 1, 2010), Germany (February 25) and Italy (April 16).

Fast & Furious has amassed $9.3m after two weekends in Japan and the international total stands at $205.3m. Local title De Storm grossed a further $300,000 in the Netherlands from at 96 sites for $5.7m after seven and ranked fourth. The international total from the Netherlands and Belgium is $5.9m. The Invention Of Lying has taken $9.6M after five weekends in the UK and reaches Australia and New Zealand on November 26.

* Fox International’s Fantastic Mr Fox snatched a further $2.4m from 486 venues in its second weekend in the UK for $9m and ranked third. Jennifer’s Body added $2.3m from 975 screens in 24 markets $10.4m and opens in the UK next weekend. Local Spanish hit Agora raised its tally in Spain to $24.8m after grossing a further $2.3m from 470 screens in its fourth weekend.
* 500 Days Of Summer added $1.3m from 614 screens in 19 markets for $19.6m. In its final major market debut, Aliens In The Attic took $412,000 in France from 210 screens and has grossed $33.8m internationally. Local title Wuestenblume added $370,000 in its sixth weekend in Germany for $8.5m.

The Final Destination added a further $3.6m from 1,629 screens in 46 Warner Bros Pictures International and New Line International market through for a $112.8m running total.