‘Kung Fu Panda 2’ Commands $56.5 Million Internationally

Weekend action—Po pushes Jack Sparrow aside!

DreamWorks Animation’s Kung Fu Panda 2 made its debut in the weekend’s No. 1 box office spot on the foreign theatrical circuit, grossing  $56.5 million from 11,025 screens in 45 territories.

The tally was buoyed by the 3D animation sequel’s solid openings in 17 overseas markets. Total foreign gross for Panda 2 has exceeded the $200-million mark (cume is $205 million), as per distributor Paramount.

Panda 2 took the top spot in the U.K. and Ireland with an opening tally of $10 million from 516 venues. A Mexico bow delivered $8.3 million from 527 sites. Brazil kicked in $5.8 million from 404 situations while Argentina generated $2.3 million from 118 spots.  Panda 2 in its Peru opening grossed $1.3 million from 52 locations for a $25,000 per-screen average, the biggest market opening of 2011.

With a tally of $41.1 million—down 41% from the prior round—Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides ended its three-stanza hold on the No. 1 overseas boxoffice title. 

Ranking No. 3 this time, the Disney release starring Johnny Depp played at 14,602 venues in 72 markets, moving its foreign gross total up to $678 million—more than three times its domestic take. Top market remains Japan where Tides drew a No. 1 ranking with a weekend gross of $6 million, pushing the market cume to $74.5 million.

Tides is easily the biggest-grossing Pirates title of the four franchise installments thus far, handily outpacing the previous foreign frontrunner, 2007’s Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, by $24 million. Worldwide cume stands at $886.8 million, making Tides the 19th biggest global grosser of all time.  

Super 8, which premiered No. 1 in the U.S. and Canada, opened in nine mostly second-tier Southeast Asian markets on the weekend, drawing  $6.7 million from a total of 652 screens and ranking No. 5 offshore overall. Opening weekend worldwide comes to $44.7 million

The sci-fi adventure, written and directed by J.J. Abrams and produced by Steven Spielberg, premiered No. 3 in Australia to what distributor Paramount described as “an excellent holiday weekend gross” of $2.7 million drawn from 652 sites.

Super 8’s Hong Kong bow drew a No. 1 marketing ranking with $575,000 yielded from 42 situations for a per-screen average of $13,690. No. 1 openings were also recorded in Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. Openings in 16 territories loom this week including Russia, Sweden and South Korea.

Finishing second on the weekend was 20^th Century Fox’s X-Men: First Class, which tallied $42.2 million from 10,643 screens in 66 markets.

Overseas cume now stands at $124.2 million after only a dozen days of release on the foreign circuit. The latest installment of the billion-dollar comic book franchise took the top spot in France for the second consecutive weekend, grossing $3.25 million from 687 sites for a market cume of $11.5 million.

Warner Bros.’ The Hangover Part II crossed the $200-million foreign gross mark (cume is $215.5 million) thanks to a $38.3 million weekend at some 7,200 screens in 55 markets. 

In just 18 days of foreign release, the comedy sequel has surpassed the $191.6 million overseas gross total recorded by 2009’s original, The Hangover. The sequel ranks No. 4 on the weekend overall. Top market was Germany where Hangover 2 grossed $7.9 million from 872 sites, ranking a dominant No. 1 in the market.   

Universal’s Fast Five hoisted its foreign gross total to $378.3 million thanks to a $5.9 million weekend at 5,450 playdates in 63 territories.  The overseas cume to date (a Japan opening is due in October) makes the latest installment of the car action franchise the biggest-grossing title of the series, besting previous foreign frontrunner, 2009’s Fast & Furious, by $170.3 million.

In the U.K. Universal opened Honey 2, a dance drama from Marc Platt Productions, in the market’s fifth spot.  Opening tally was $850,000 from 301 sites. An opening in Germany is next on June 23, while a France bow is due July 20.

Other international cumes: Sony’s Priest, $44 million; Fox’s Diary of a Wimpy Kid 2, $15.6 million; Universal’s Hop, $67.3 million; Sony, Focus Features and other distributors’ Hanna, $14.8 million; Universal’s Paul, $55.1 million; Fox’s Rio, $329.5 million; Universal’s Senna, $4.8 million from seven territories; Fox’s Black Swan, $216.8 million; Universal’s The Adjustment Bureau, $59.8 million; Fox’s Water For Elephants, $55.3 million.