While not quite matching its blazing opening pace domestically, “The Twilight Saga: New Moon” nonetheless topped the foreign circuit on the weekend, finishing at No. 1 with $124.1 million from 6,873 screens in a relatively contained opening break comprising 24 territories.
The girl-meets-vampire sequel notched an astronomical $18,056 per-screen average overall. Cume including previews totaled $132.1 million making “Moon” the fifth biggest offshore opening of the year.
Ranking No. 2 was the prior weekend’s No. 1 title, director Roland Emmerich’s disaster epic “2012,” which dropped 35% from its mighty $165.2 million opening frame to finish with $107.1 million from 13,774 screens in 107 markets. Its 12-day overseas gross totals $348.1 million.
“New Moon,” the second film version of Stephenie Meyer’s teen-favorite novels starring Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart, set opening records in Australia ($14.8 million from 530 sites for a $27,900 average per screen) and in New Zealand ($1.92 million from 91 sites for an average of more than $21,000 per screen).
“New Moon” dominated the U.K. ($19.4 million from 497 locations for a $39,034 average per screen), France ($19.2 million from 755 situations), Spain ($11.7 million from 634 sites); and Brazil ($7.7 million from 323 situations). The film’s opening weekend gross worldwide came to $274.9 million.
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“New Moon’s” predecessor, 2008’s “Twilight,” grossed $384 million worldwide over the course of its entire run, of which $192 million came from outside the U.S. and Canada.
“2012” finished No. 3 on the weekend domestically, but its overseas total so far is more than three times its domestic cume. A No. 1 Japan opening, the biggest weekend bow of 2009 in the market, generated $6.9 million from 622 screens. Worldwide cume stands at $456.2 million.
“2012’s” No. 1 second China frame came up with $12.4 million from 6,069 sites for a market cume of $34.5 million. In all, the disaster epic took the top weekend spots in at least 13 territories. Top five markets for the film so far: China, France (cume $28.2 million), Russia ($27 million), Germany ($23.9 million) and the U.K. ($21.5 million)
Opening in Italy was “Planet 51,” a family-oriented animation title about an American astronaut confronting little green people on an alien planet, which grossed an estimated $600,000 from 242 screens. The HandMade Films/Ilion Animation outing features the voices of Dwayne Johnson, Jessica Biel, Gary Oldman and John Cleese.
Third on the weekend “Disney’s A Christmas Carol,” which continues to draw strongly in Russia ($3.5 million from 350 sites) and the U.K. ($3.7 million from 478 locations for a market cume of $21.5 million). The weekend overall for the director Robert Zemeckis’ 3D performance-capture version of Charles Dickens’ 1843 novella, starring Jim Carrey as Scrooge, provided $18.5 million from 4,434 screens in 41 markets for an overseas cume of $60 million.
No. 4 was “This Is It,” which captured $5.7 million from 3,201 screens in 75 markets. Since its Oct. 28 overseas bow, the Michael Jackson concert-preparation docu has an accumulated boxoffice of $168.2 million. It ranked No. 2 in its fourth Japan round on the weekend with $2.9 million from 309 screens for a market cume of $38.9 million.
Fifth was the Pixar/Disney animation title “Up,” which boosted its offshore cume to $379 million thanks to a $3 million weekend from 3,015 situations in 25 territories. A Japan opening is due Dec. 5.
Universal’s “Couples Retreat” pushed its international cume to $37.7 million thanks to a $2.5 million weekend at 899 playdates in 23 territories. The Vince Vaughn comedy opened No. 4 in the Netherlands, held at No. 4 in Germany and was No. 2 in Austria. It has 38 more territories to play with openings in Bulgaria, Egypt and Finland due this week.
Making its Japan debut was the Weinstein Co./Universal’s “Inglourious Basterds,” which fought its way to $2.4 million overall on the weekend from 917 sites in 28 markets. Its Japan bow generated $1.8 million from 315 screens.
The World War II drama from director Quentin Tarantino is winding down its overseas run and has accumulated $190.8 million overseas to date. The title has two more territories to play: Ecuador and the Philippines.
In the U.K., Lionsgate’s release of “Harry Brown,” a crime drama starring Michael Caine as avenger of a friend’s murder, finished No. 4 in its second round with an estimated $1.2 million from 354 screens. Market cume is $4.5 million.
Universal opened “A Serious Man” in the U.K. ($527,000 from 51 locations), Australia and New Zealand for an overall total of $764,394 from 94 sites. Focus Features is also releasing overseas the Coen brothers’ look at the Jewish community circa 1967 in a midwestern suburb. Overseas cume totals $2.2 million.
Finishing at No. 4 in France was Pathe’s release of director Claude Berri’s final film, “Tresor” (Treasure), which in its second round garnered $1.3 million from 441 screens for a market cume of $4.5 million. Finishing sixth in the market was Diaphana Films’ release of “Rapt,” a drama from director/co-writer Lucas Balvaux about the kidnapping of a billionaire in the 1970s. Opening gross was $1.2 million from 179 locations.
Other international cumes: Disney’s “G-Force,” $159.1 million; Fox’s “Amelia,” $1.7 million; Mandate International’s “Saw VI,” $26.6 million; Fox’s “Fantastic Mr. Fox,” $13.8 million (U.K. and Singapore only); Universal’s “Public Enemies,” $107.7 million; Wild Bunch Distribution’s “Le Petit Nicolas,” $46.4 million (from eight frames in France only); Universal’s “Away We Go,” $150,000 (Universal territories only); Disney’s “Surrogates,” $69.2 million; and Fox’s “(500) Days of Summer,” $23 million.
Also, New Line/Warner Bros.’ “The Final Destination,” $119.4 million; Sony’s “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs,” $61 million; DreamWorks/Universal’s “The Soloist,” $5.4 million; Sony’s “The Ugly Truth,” $112.5 million; Fox’s “Jennifer’s Body,” $15.7 million; Sony’s “Julie & Julia,” $31.1 million; Fox’s “Agora,” $30 million (in Spain only); Universal’s “The Invention of Lying,” $9.9 million; Focus Features’ “9,” $15 million; Universal’s “De Storm,” $6.6 million (the Netherlands and Belgium only); and Focus Features’ “Love Happens,” $7.9 million.
