'Three Musketeers' Tops German Charts in World Premiere

COLOGNE, Germany -- Paul W.S. Anderson's The Three Musketeers reboot got a solid, if less than spectacular, start to its world release with a No. 1 bow in Germany this weekend. The period auctioneer - starring Logan Lerman, Matthew Macfadyen, Orlando Bloom and Milla Jovovich -- earned $3.4 million (€2.4 million) in its first weekend, enough to take top spot in the territory ahead of local comedy What a Man. Musketeers also topped the charts in neighboring Austria, where it earned just under $500,000 (€350,000) in its opening weekend.

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But in Germany the rom-com What A Man -- directed, co-written and starring newly-crowned German box office superstar Matthias Schweighofer -- still beat out Musketeers in terms of admissions. What a Man sold 250,000 tickets in Germany in its 4-day sophomore weekend, compared with 235,000 more pricey 3D tickets for Three Musketeers.

It was a soft box office weekend overall, as blazing sunshine had German audiences rushing away from cinemas towards parks and beer gardens. Constantin Film, which produced Three Musketeers and is distributing it in Germany, will be praying for rain in the coming weeks.

In a separate development, Matthias Peipp, head of distribution and licensing at Constantin, announced he was leaving the company as of January 2012. Peipp will focus on his cinema consultancy firm CineAtlantica as well as new projects, Constantin said in a statement.

He will continue to act as a consultant for Constantin.The company has not yet named a replacement.