'Avatar' tops international boxoffice again in it's 7th week

Source: thehollywoodreporter

Hardly resting on its worldwide boxoffice laurels, "Avatar" charged ahead in its seventh weekend on the international circuit, finishing No. 1 with $95.1 million drawn from 11,327 screens in 120 markets.

Overseas gross total stands at $1.45 billion, pushing the 20th Century Fox release's worldwide gross total past the $2 billion mark.

With the domestic gross total registering at $594.5 million through the weekend -- still $6.3 million shy of "Titanic's" U.S. and Canada record of $600.8 million -- 'Avatar's" new global gross record comes to $2.045 billion.

Director James Cameron's mega-budget 3D spectacle broke "Titanic's" all-time overseas gross mark of $1.242 billion on Jan. 23, and notched a new worldwide benchmark $1.859 billion last Monday. It's expected that "Avatar" will break "Titanic's" domestic boxoffice record on Monday or Tuesday.

The weekend gross on the foreign circuit was the first to fall below the $100 million mark but nonetheless the total offshore take was just 12% below the prior weekend's number, indicating "Avatar's" extraordinary staying power at the boxoffice.

Top market was Italy where the third weekend generated $10.9 million from 906 screens for a market cume of $55.7 million. For all the Sturm und Drang in China about "Avatar's" 2D playoff, the weekend there came up with $9.7 million from 1,413 sites for a market cume of $126.3 million.

Other key markets included France (cume $133.9 million so far), Germany ($106.7 million), the U.K. ($104.6 million), Russia ($101.2 million), Japan ($92 million), South Korea ($88.5 million), Australia ($84 million) and Spain ($82.7 million).

No. 2 was Warner Bros.' "Sherlock Holmes," which exceeded the $200 million overseas gross mark (cume actually is $219 million) with a $15.6 million weekend at about 5,400 screens in 57 markets. Director Guy Ritchie's interpretation of Arthur Conan Doyle's classic detective, costarring Robert Downey Jr. as Holmes and Jude Law as Dr. Watson, opened in Germany to $4.25 million from 675 sites.

Third on the weekend was Fox's "Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel," which in its sixth round came up with $10.8 million from 4,719 screens in 45 territories, pushing its foreign gross total to $190 million. An animated opening in Italy generated $2.35 million from 353 locations.

Buoyed by openings in 11 territories, the weekend No. 4 title from Paramount, "Up in the Air," the George Clooney comedy-drama directed by Jason Reitman, flew to $10.5 million from 2,580 spots in 37 territories for an early overseas total of $35 million. A muscular opening in France produced $2.3 million from 311 screens while a Denmark bow generated $152,000 from 16 locations.

Thanks to a strong France debut, Disney Animation's "The Princess and the Frog" finished No. 5 by drawing a total of $9.6 million on the weekend from 2,800 screens in 32 markets, for an international cume of $78.3 million. Of the total, $7.4 million came from 365 situations in France. In the Paris area, "Princess" opened in the No. 1 spot. It also premiered in South Africa for $250,000 from 45 locations.

A forceful Spain opening ($3 million from 306 screens) propelled Warner's "Invictus" to a $9.2 million weekend from about 1,600 screens in 18 markets. International cume for the Clint Eastwood-directed title stands at $29.1 million.

With 25 territories still to play, Universal's "It's Complicated" has rolled up an overseas total so far of $63.7 million. Weekend for the romantic comedy starring Meryl Streep registered $8.1 million from 3,100 situations in 37 markets. A No. 4 opening in Mexico generated $820,000 from 350 sites.

Fox's "Tooth Fairy," a comic fantasy starring Dwayne Johnson, registered $5.6 million from 2,180 sites in 20 markets for an early cume of $25.2 million. An action-packed Russia opening ($3.9 million from 598 screens) propelled Sony's "Legion," director Scott Stewart's action fantasy, to a $4.8 million weekend at 783 locales in five markets.

Tied at $4.2 million each on the weekend were Sony's "Did You Hear About the Morgans?" and the same distributor's "Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs." The romantic comedy with Hugh Grant and Sarah Jessica Parker played 2,045 screens in 41 markets and pushed its overseas cume to $36.7 million. Family-oriented "Cloudy" played 1,443 situations in 21 territories; cume is $94 million.

In the U.K., Icon Film Distribution opened "Edge of Darkness," the revenge drama with Mel Gibson that also opened domestically on the weekend. Playing at 424 screens, "Edge" grossed an estimated weekend take of $2 million, sufficient for a No. 3 market ranking.

In France, Pathe opened "Oceans," co-directors Jacques Cluzaud andJacques Perrin's ecological docu-drama, at 333 screens for $3.3 million and a No. 2 ranking in Paris and suburbs.

Universal's release of Focus Features Int'l.'s local co-production, "Serge Gainsbourg, vie heroique" ("Serge Gainsbourg, Heroic Life"), finished No. 6 in its second round with an estimated $2 million from 499 sites for a market cume of $6.3 million.

Director Quentin Tarantino's World War II anti-Nazi adventure "Inglourious Basterds" has passed the $200 million mark overseas ($200.1 million) and has accumulated a worldwide gross of more than $320 million. One of the two biggest markets for the Weinstein Co./Universal was Germany, where the film grossed $23.2 million. The France cume is $25.8 million.

Other international cumes: Focus Features/Universal's "A Serious Man," $14 million; DreamWorks/Paramount's "The Lovely Bones," $10 million from three markets (including a $2 million Japan opening at 308 screens); Disney's "Surrogates," $80.7 million; Universal's "Couples Retreat," $58.5 million; UGC Distribution's "Une petite zone de turbulences," $3.9 million in three rounds in France only; Disney's "Old Dogs," $38.6 million; Paramount's "Celda 221," $15.4 million from Spain only; Warner's "Io, loro e Lara" ("I, They and Lara"), $22.2 million from Italy only; and Sony's "Friendship," $10.3 million from Germany and Austria only.