'Titans' takes lead overseas

12:03 PM PDT 4/4/2010 by Frank Segers, AP

'Dragon' is No. 2, 'Alice' falls to third place

The year's second quarter dawned on the foreign theatrical circuit with a new boxoffice champ in place as Warner Bros.' "Clash of the Titans" grossed an estimated $45 million in its opening launch at 4,270 screens in 15 markets.

Director Louis Leterrier's 3D, special effects-laden update of MGM's 1981 action fantasy loosely based on Greek mythology -- and co-produced by Ray Harryhausen and Charles Schneer -- is only the third title of 2010 to take the No. 1 spot overseas. (By this time last year, nine titles successively topped offshore charts.)

"Titans" took over Disney's "Alice in Wonderland" in 3D, which spent a month as the No. 1 foreign title after 20th Century Fox's "Avatar" dominated for the year's first eight rounds.

"Alice" drew $33 million from 7,640 spots in 51 markets, and ranks No. 3 on the weekend. "Avatar" finished out of the top five with $5.5 million generated from 1,712 screens in 37 markets for a foreign gross total of $1.960 billion. The biggest foreign "Avatar" market is now China, where director James Cameron's blockbuster has collected a total of $193.7 million.

Easter weekend action for "Titans," which stars Sam Worthington, Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes, claimed the No. 1 spot in each market played, drawing $8.5 million over three days from 752 sites in the U.K.; another $8.5 million over five days in Spain from 549 spots; $6.85 million over four days from 725 Korea screens; and $5.75 million over four days in Australia from 349 situations.

According to Warner Bros, "Titans" beat the comparable opening grosses in the same 15 territories recorded by 2006's "300" ($38 million) and 2004's "Troy" ($32 million). "Titans'" 3D venues accounted 54% of its total weekend gross offshore. Openings in France, Germany and Russia are due this week.

The weekend's No. 2 film, DreamWorks Animation's "How to Train Your Dragon," opened in 19 territories, and garnered an animated $38.6 million overall from 7,282 locations in 47 markets for an international cume of $98.4 million.

Nearly 70% of the tally derived from some 3,477 3D venues. "Dragon's" best openers were in the U.K ($7.8 million from 716 sites, with 76% of revenues coming from 3D locations) and France, where it grabbed $4.7 million from 743 spots.