Cathy
08-29-2006, 12:16 PM
By Hy Hollinger
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest," the foreign box office champ for the past eight weekends, has helped Walt Disney Co. pass the $1 billion mark overseas for a 12th consecutive year.
20th Century Fox was the first this year to hit the $1 billion gong, thanks mainly to "Ice Age: The Meltdown" ($460 million). And Sony Pictures, triggered by "The Da Vinci Code" ($535.6 million), hurdled the $1 billion goal late last week. Each of the studios separately crossed the industry mark in record time.
"Dead Man's Chest," which fielded $18.1 million from 42 countries last weekend, has lifted its worldwide total to $963.2 million, which -- according to Disney -- makes it "the fourth most popular title" in the global market.
The weekend results for the Johnny Depp smash, highlighted by an all-time record debut in Greece ($2.2 million), also saw solid holds in prime markets. Four weekends in France have delivered $42.8 million; five in Germany, $55.5 million; six in Japan, $74.1 million; three in Spain $30.5 million; and eight in the U.K., $91.6 million. The final port of call for "Pirates" is Italy on September 13.
Elsewhere, "You, Me and Dupree" hit the peak in the U.K. with $3.1 million; "Snakes on a Plane" opened at No. 1 in Australia ($782,137), New Zealand ($114,325) and Singapore ($265,740); "Click" logged a second week at No. 1 in Mexico ($1.2 million; local total, $4 million); and "Step Up" climbed to No. 1 in the Netherlands ($550,000).
Among holdover films entering new markets, "Miami Vice" collected $11.5 million from 27 markets to raise its international total to $52 million. It pushed "Dead Man's Chest" out of first place in Germany, taking $2.6 million, and has picked up $7.8 million in 12 days in France.
As the summer wanes, families are catching up with the animated specials, with "Cars" driving to $10.5 million from 24 countries. The Disney-Pixar comedy, which has earned $159.2 million to date, arrived in Italy with $5.9 million, hailed as the second-best Pixar opening in the territory after the $6.4 million tallied by "The Incredibles." China greeted "Cars" with $1.4 million, just 2% below the bow of "Finding Nemo."
"Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties" also continued its appeal for the family trade, embracing $9.5 million from 38 markets for a total to date of $78.5 million. It opened at No. 1 in Spain ($3.1 million) and has a two-weekend market total of $4.2 million in Russia.
On the other hand, "Monster House" -- despite critical acceptance for the Robert Zemeckis-Steven Spielberg project -- is not being applauded overseas. A weekend score of $5.7 million from 26 markets saw the animated fantasy arrive at No. 6 in France ($1.3 million), and No. 8 in Germany ($500,000). The international total stands at $29 million.
Other totals: "Lady in the Water," $10 million; "Superman Returns," $173 million; "You, Me and Dupree," $12.8 million; "Snakes on a Plane," $7.8 million; "Click," $31.1 million; "Poseidon," $121 million; and "My Super Ex-Girlfriend," $13.4 million.
Reuters/Hollywood Reporter
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest," the foreign box office champ for the past eight weekends, has helped Walt Disney Co. pass the $1 billion mark overseas for a 12th consecutive year.
20th Century Fox was the first this year to hit the $1 billion gong, thanks mainly to "Ice Age: The Meltdown" ($460 million). And Sony Pictures, triggered by "The Da Vinci Code" ($535.6 million), hurdled the $1 billion goal late last week. Each of the studios separately crossed the industry mark in record time.
"Dead Man's Chest," which fielded $18.1 million from 42 countries last weekend, has lifted its worldwide total to $963.2 million, which -- according to Disney -- makes it "the fourth most popular title" in the global market.
The weekend results for the Johnny Depp smash, highlighted by an all-time record debut in Greece ($2.2 million), also saw solid holds in prime markets. Four weekends in France have delivered $42.8 million; five in Germany, $55.5 million; six in Japan, $74.1 million; three in Spain $30.5 million; and eight in the U.K., $91.6 million. The final port of call for "Pirates" is Italy on September 13.
Elsewhere, "You, Me and Dupree" hit the peak in the U.K. with $3.1 million; "Snakes on a Plane" opened at No. 1 in Australia ($782,137), New Zealand ($114,325) and Singapore ($265,740); "Click" logged a second week at No. 1 in Mexico ($1.2 million; local total, $4 million); and "Step Up" climbed to No. 1 in the Netherlands ($550,000).
Among holdover films entering new markets, "Miami Vice" collected $11.5 million from 27 markets to raise its international total to $52 million. It pushed "Dead Man's Chest" out of first place in Germany, taking $2.6 million, and has picked up $7.8 million in 12 days in France.
As the summer wanes, families are catching up with the animated specials, with "Cars" driving to $10.5 million from 24 countries. The Disney-Pixar comedy, which has earned $159.2 million to date, arrived in Italy with $5.9 million, hailed as the second-best Pixar opening in the territory after the $6.4 million tallied by "The Incredibles." China greeted "Cars" with $1.4 million, just 2% below the bow of "Finding Nemo."
"Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties" also continued its appeal for the family trade, embracing $9.5 million from 38 markets for a total to date of $78.5 million. It opened at No. 1 in Spain ($3.1 million) and has a two-weekend market total of $4.2 million in Russia.
On the other hand, "Monster House" -- despite critical acceptance for the Robert Zemeckis-Steven Spielberg project -- is not being applauded overseas. A weekend score of $5.7 million from 26 markets saw the animated fantasy arrive at No. 6 in France ($1.3 million), and No. 8 in Germany ($500,000). The international total stands at $29 million.
Other totals: "Lady in the Water," $10 million; "Superman Returns," $173 million; "You, Me and Dupree," $12.8 million; "Snakes on a Plane," $7.8 million; "Click," $31.1 million; "Poseidon," $121 million; and "My Super Ex-Girlfriend," $13.4 million.
Reuters/Hollywood Reporter