Foreign Box Office: 'The Smurfs' Beat the Heat and Emerge No. 1

By Frank Segers

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Bucking the torrid temperatures across Europe that depressed weekend box office on the foreign theatrical circuit, The Smurfs captured the No. 1 spot overseas with a gross of $35.3 million – down 34% from the prior stanza – at 10,527 screens in 58 markets.

The family-oriented 3D outing from Sony animation about those lovable blue creatures finished in the top spots in at least nine territories including Poland ($1.36 million drawn in its debut round at 150 venues), Colombia, Israel, Chile, Portugal, Austria and in Brazil ($4.1 million in the third round from 507 locations for a market cume of $22.5 million).

The Smurfs, which topped the foreign circuit for the second consecutive weekend, has accumulated total offshore gross of $211.6 million since it opened overseas on July 27. 

The weekend’s No. 2 was, again, 20th Century Fox’s Rise of the Planet of the Apes, which collected $29.8 million from 6,072 venues in 48 markets. A No. 2 bow in South Korea generated $7 million from 525 situations. The seventh installment of the 47-year-old feature film series has amassed a total of $124 million so far overseas.

Spectacularly landing at No. 3, and dominating a generally soft U.K. market, was The Inbetweeners Movie, a comedy costarring Simon Bird, James Buckley and Blake Harrison about four South England 18-year-olds on a Crete holiday. The Entertainment Film Distributors ‘ release of the tv series spinoff opened No. 1 with a sizzling $21.7 million – nearly two-and-a-half time Sundays estimate -- drawn from some 453 locations for a per-screen average of nearly $48,000.

Entertainment Film Distributors also introduced to 420 U.K. screens The Weinstein Co./Dimension’s Spy Kids 4: All The Time In The World 3D.  Director Robert Rodriguez’ sequel, costarring Jessica Alba, Jeremy Piven and Joel McHale, opened No. 6 with $1.16 million.  On the weekend overall the latest Kids installment drew $4.15 million from 1,343 screens in four markets. 

The weekend’s No. 4 was Warner Bros.’ Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2, which generated $14.9 million on the weekend from 61 territories. Foreign cume for the eighth title in the lucrative franchise stands at $901 million, with $110.6 million coming from the U.K., making HP8 the market’s fourth biggest box office hit ever.

The Weekend’s No. 5, Warner’sGreen Lantern, is picking up some steam overseas.  The weekend generated $11.9 million from about 4,200 venues in 36 territories. A No. 2 Brazil opener provided $3.55 million from 352 sites.  Foreign cume: $79.1 million. 

Debuts in six markets including a No. 2 bow in France ($3.5 million from 480 locations) lifted the overall weekend tally for Marvel Studios’ Captain American: The First Avenger to $11.5 million from 4,254 venues in 41 territories, and elevated the 3D superhero comic book adaptation’s overseas cume to $146.8 million. A No. 1 Germany introduction for the Paramount release provided $2.2 million from 460 sites.

Pixar’s Cars 2 from Disney drew $10 million on its ninth round on the foreign circuit, lifting its overseas cume to $314.4 million. Global take is $501.3 million. 

Since its offshore opening on June 9,Super 8, director J.J. Abrams’ sci/fi-adventure co-produced by Steven Spielberg, has finally crossed the $100-million mark in foreign box office ($107.7 million). The weekend came up with $8.3 million from 3,053 screens in 25 territories.  A No. 1 debut in Spain provided $4.1 million from 386 sites.

Paramount’s Cowboys & Aliens, the 3D sci/fi-western hybrid costarring Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford, maintained its low box office profile overseas with a $8.1 million weekend at 2,162 locations in 20 territories.  Accumulated foreign gross since Aug. 9 came to $17.7 million.  A No. 3 U.K. premier generated $2.9 million from 431 venues while an Australia debut provided $2.2 million from 229 sites.

Coming in at $7 million on the weekend at 2,200 screens in 46 markets was Warner’s comedy-drama Horrible Bosses.  The film opened No. 1 in Italy while a  No. 3 France bow provided $1.9 million from 258 locations.  Foreign cume stands at $45.4 million.

Paramount’s Transformers: Dark of the Moon, the action extravaganza from director Michael Bay upped its offshore box office total to $747.3 million – the distributor’s best grossing foreign hit ever – thanks to a $6.1 million weekend at 1,153 situations in 44 markets. Japan market cume so far is $44.4 million while total China box office stands at a sensational $159.1 million.

Although DreamWorks Animation’s Kung Fu Panda 2 has been playing the foreign circuit since May 26, the 3D animation sequel keeps on chugging at the box office. A No. 4 Japan debut generated $3.2 million from 305 venues.  Weekend overall came up with $6.65.5 million from 1,278 situations in 28 territories for an international cume of $460 million.

Weekend foreign action for a pair of female-oriented comedies  -- Universal’s Bridesmaids costarring Kristen Wiig and Sony’s Bad Teacher starring Cameron Diaz – tied at $3.4 million each.  Bridesmaids played at 1,866 sites in 31 territories for an overseas gross total of $104.8 million.  Bad Teacher was booked at some 1,414 locations in 48 markets for an offshore cume of $98.9 million.

Opening No. 1 in Australia was Sony’s Friends With Benefits, a romantic comedy costarring Mila Kunis and Justin Timberlake, which grossed $2.7 million in the market at 247 locations.  Overall weekend take came to $3.1 million derived from 477 screens in 10 territories.  Early foreign total gross stands at $13.4 million.

Zookeeper, the talking animals comedy from Sony starring Kevin James, had a soft France debut, coming in at No. 15 in the market with $477,649 derived from 231 screens.  Weekend overall drew $2.8 million from 1,610 screens in 45 territories for an overseas cume of $62.3 million.

In France, four of the market’s top five titles were American films with the exception of Pathe’s release of The Skin I Live In from Spanish director Pedro Almodovar, which grabbed the No. 5 spot with $1.45 million derived from some 281 screens.

Other international cumes: Warner’s Crazy Stupid Love, $5.1 million (after a $4.2 million weekend at 1,150 screens in 12 markets); Fox’s X-Men: First Class, $206.8 million; Universal’s Hop, $76.5 million; Fox’s Mr. Popper’s Penguins, $96.8 million; Universal’s Senna, $9 million from eight markets; Fox’s Monte Carlo, $8.2 million; Universal’s Fast Five, $397 million; and Fox’s Glee: The 3D Concert Movie, $2.88 million.

Also, Sony’s Resturlaub (Residual Leave), $4.6 million from two markets; Fox’s Assalto Ao Banco Central, $11.2 million from Brazil only; Focus Features’ Beginners, $5.7 million; Universal’s Paul, $59.6 million; Fox’s Win Win, $137,474 in Australia opener at 63 spots; Focus Features’ One Day, $1.2 million; Fox’s You Are The Apple Of My Eye,  $3.1 million in Taiwan opener at 118 screens; and Focus Features’ Jane Eyre, $4.2 million.