By Frank Segers
Hey, give Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 a break.
Sure, the Warner Bros. smash took a 62% box office drop on the foreign theatrical circuit over the weekend. But the concluding Harry Potter installment still emerged the resounding No. 1 offshore title, besting its closest competitor by more than a $40-million margin.
Weekend take for Deathly Hallows – Part 2 came to $120.2 million from some 19,000 screens in 59 territories compared to the record $312.3 million opening the weekend before at some 20,000 venues in the same number of markets. That’s called a moderate fall from an extraordinarily high box office perch.
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In just a dozen days of foreign release, Deathly Hallows – Part 2 has accumulated total foreign gross of $559 million, more than double the sequel’s $273.5 million domestic tally so far. The worldwide box office gross total for all eight titles in the Harry Potter franchise now stands at more than $7.2 billion.
Ranking No. 1 in all key foreign markets, Deathly Hallows – Part 2
came away with these weekend takes: in the U.K ($13.9 million from 581 locations for a market cume of $71.1 million); Germany ($13.4 million from 920 sites, cume $47.3 million); and in France ($11.7 million, cume $42 million).
Warner’s said that grosses in Scandinavia were robust “despite the horrible events in Norway.” Records for the distributor were set in Latin America, Russia and in Mexico. An opening in China is due Aug. 4.
Paramount’s Captain America:The First Avenger, which opened No. 1 in North America, dipped its toes in international waters over the weekend with an Italy premier. Friday-to-Sunday gross came in at $2.9 million from 553 locations.
Debuts in some 30 markets including the U.K., Russia, Mexico, Brazil, Australia and South Korea are due this week. (In Korea, Russia and the Ukraine, Marvel Studios’ comic-book movie adaptation starring Chris Evans will play off under the title The First Avenger, said the distributor.)
Also introducing itself overseas on the weekend was Warner’s Horrible Bosses, a crime caper costarring Jason Bateman, Charlie Day and Jason Sudeikis. Opener at 409 situations in the U.K. generated $3.4 million and a No. 3 market ranking.
Opening in five miniscule foreign markets was Friends With Benefits, Sony’s romantic comedy costarring Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis. Debut at a total of 17 screens drew $85,715.
Finishing No. 2 was Transformers: Dark of the Moon, which is now the “all-time biggest grossing movie ever distributed by Paramount Pictures International,” said the distributor. Weekend take was $76.1 million from 13,224 venues in 53 markets, lifting the foreign box office total over four rounds to $556.1 million.
Paramount said directorMichael Bay’s 3D action extravaganza set a China opening record for an American title with an estimated three-day debut of $41.4 million, beating the comparable market opening 20th Century Fox Avatar by some 72%. Dark of the Moon bows in Japan this coming Friday.
Third on the weekend was Pixar/Disney’s Cars 2, which registered $17.7 million in its fifth round on the foreign theatrical circuit, hoisting is overseas cume to $173.7 million and its worldwide take to $350.1 million – just about evenly spit between domestic and offshore action.
A No. 2 U.K. debut for the 3D animation about talking autos produced $5.8 million from 486 locations. Disney said the market debut was 25% better than the comparable market bow of DreamWorks Animation’s Kung Fu Panda 2. Foreign box office for Cars 2 overall should spurt this week thanks to openings in France, Germany and Japan.
No. 4 on the weekend was 20th Century Fox’s Mr. Popper’s Penguins, which collected $12.3 million from 3,888 situations in 47 markets. No. 2 openings were recorded in France ($2.6 million from 444 sites), Mexico ($2.58 million from 692 spots) and in Spain ($1.26 million from 358 locations). Overseas total take so far for the Jim Carrey comedy comes to $56.4 million.
Openings in 19 territories, including No. 2 bows in Russia, the Ukraine, Venezuela and the United Arab Emirates, pushed the weekend gross for Zookeeper to $9.7 million from a total of 2,258 locations in 35 markets, enough for a No. 5 weekend finish. The talking animals comedy starring Kevin James has grossed a total of $29.5 million since opening overseas on July 6.
DreamWorks Animation’s Kung Fu Panda 2 drew $8.2 million on the weekend from 3,912 venues in 42 territories, hoisting its overseas cume to $437.7 million. The 3D animation distributed by Paramount opened at 42 sites in Hong for debut tally of $1.6 million or more than a $37,000 average per screen.
Bridesmaids,which has grossed more than $160 million in the U.S. and Canada, continues to chug along on the foreign circuit. Weekend tally from 1,887 sites in 31 territories also came to $8.2 million, pushing the foreign gross total to $71 million. Universal’s female-oriented comedy opened No. 2 in Sweden, No. 3 in Austria and No. 4 in Germany ($2.2 million from 415 locations). Poland debuts this week.
Also grabbing an estimated $8.1 million weekend, from 2,262 screens in 33 markets, take was Bad Teacher, Sony’s comedy starring Cameron Diaz. A No. 2 Australia opening provided an estimated $3.2 million from 242 screens. Overseas cume since a June 17 offshore bow stands at $70.4 million.
Fox International Productions’ Assalto Ao Banco Central, a local language drama based on an actual bank heist, opened to $2.55 million from 305 screens in Brazil. In its fourth round on the foreign circuit, Summit Int’l.’s Larry Crowne costarring Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts snared an estimated $2.2 million on the weekend, playing some 1,300 locations in 20 countries. Overseas cume so far is $16.8 million.
Ranking No. 3 in France was Mars Distribution’s Case Depart, about the antics of a pair of half brothers. Third round at some 400 screens generated an estimated $2.1 million for a market cume of $10.4 million. Finishing No. 4 was Pathe’s Les Tuches (The Tuches), a comedy about a slacker family hitting the lottery, which grossed an estimated $1.4 million in its fourth stanza at 429 sites for a market cume of $9.5 million.
Other international cumes: Disney’sPirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, $794.6 million (worldwide, $1.032 billion); Fox’s Black Swan, $222.4 million; Universal’s Hop, $74.3 million; Mars Distribution’s Midnight in Paris, $15.5 million over 11 rounds in France only; Fox’s Water For Elephants, $58.1 million; Universal’s Paul, $57 million; Europa’s Tree of Life, $7 million over 11 stanzas in France only; Universal’s Fast Five, $394.3 million; Fox’s X-Men: First Class, $205 million; and Universal’s Beginners, $1.8 million in the U.K., Germany and Spain only.
Also, Paramount’s Super 8, $56.6 million; Focus Features’ Beginners, $3.4 million; Paramount’s Thor, $266.6 million; Universal’s The Adjustment Bureau, $65.2 million; Focus Features’ Biutiful, $19.9 million; Universal’s Senna, $8.2 million; Focus Features’ Jane Eyre, $2 million; and Fox’s Monte Carlo, $3.37 million.
