'Cloud Atlas' Delivers Solid Euro Opening But Can't Surpass 'Skyfall' in Germany

COLOGNE, Germany - It wasn't enough to challenge Skyfall but Cloud Atlas had a respectable, if not spectacular, bow in Germany, landing a decent second in the box office rankings here.

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The sci-fi fantasy from directors Tom Tykwer, Andy and Lana Wachowski booked 280,000 admissions in its first, four-day weekend in Germany on 525 screens for a gross of around $3.6 million (€2.8 million), according to German distributor X Verleih.

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That was less than a third of the 890,000 Germans who bought a ticket to Skyfall on its third, chart-topping weekend here. Sam Mendes' Bond has sold more than 5 million tickets in Germany so far -- only the third film after French comedy Intouchables and Ice Age: Continental Drift to hit that landmark in the territory this year.

Cloud Atlas' German producers X Filme were looking to Germany to provide a solid start for the movie in Western Europe. The film received more than $12 million in production support and tax subsidies from Germany and the producers made the territory a major focus in its international PR campaign ahead of last weekend's release. It was a decent start but Cloud Atlas will need strong word of mouth if it is to resist the onslaught of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2, which hits theaters here on Thursday.

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Audiences have been more welcoming to the film further East. In Russia, where 20th Century Fox and A Company Russia are handling distribution, Cloud Atlas has earned more than $12 million after two weeks. In Ukraine, the film has grossed some $1.2 million.

Cloud Atlas, which stars Halle Berry and Tom Hanks, continues its roll out with bows in Hungary, the Czech Republic, Poland, the Netherlands and Portugal later this month.