Around the World Roundup: 'Da Vinci,' 'X-Men' Top Soccer-Struck Globe
The 2006 FIFA World Cup once again put a damper on international ticket sales. Countries with weekend games saw noticeable dips in grosses, whereas nations without them had relatively strong holds.
The weekend's champion was too close to call as grosses were greatly overestimated. The Da Vinci Code posted a $14.2 million weekend from 7,466 screens, while X-Men: The Last Stand was somewhere in the same neighborhood. Thanks to the lack of a German soccer match during the weekend, Da Vinci bettered last weekend's result by four percent, grossing $1.4 million for a $43.2 million total. Japan's match on Sunday was a hindrance, but Da Vinci still managed to fall 27 percent there to $3.2 million for a $62.9 million total.
Italy's primetime match against the United States on Saturday contributed to The Da Vinci Code 68 percent tumble to $547,732 for a $35.9 million total. Despite that, the thriller remained in first place there, as well as Denmark ($7.7 million total), Netherlands ($7.4 million), Austria ($6.4 million), Sweden ($6.1 million) and Belgium ($6.1 million).
All told, The Da Vinci Code has amassed $479 million, ranking as the 13th highest-grossing picture of all time internationally.
Driven by a studio-best opening in South Korea, X-Men: The Last Stand vied with Da Vinci Code for the foreign top spot. 20th Century Fox's action sequel dominated the market with $5.9 million from 353 screens. The mutants also hit Taiwan, generating $1.4 million from 166 screens, more than doubling X2: X-Men United. Overall, the picture has minted $182.5 million.
Making its foreign debut, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift was solid but lagged behind its predecessors. The franchise's third installment grossed $7.9 million from eight nations. Leading the way was the United Kingdom's $3.2 million from 376 screens, which was 70 percent of 2 Fast 2 Furious's opening but 23 percent better than the original, The Fast and the Furious. Tokyo Drift also landed on top in franchise-friendly Australia, nabbing $2.3 million from 187 screens. Openings throughout the smaller territories were good, including Denmark ($257,881 from 29 screens), Malaysia ($575,502 from 39) and Thailand ($696,675 from 59).
Garfield: A Tale of Two Kitties also saw softer returns than its predecessor. The family comedy was best in Brazil with $1.5 million from 379 screens and had moderate starts in Singapore ($244,000 from 29) and the Philippines ($143,000 from 50). Garfield: The Movie was a surprise international hit finishing with $123.2 million, a height Two Kitties is unlikely to attain.
The Omen was cursed by a steep drop to $9.1 million, but its total rose to $47.6 million. The horror remake remained at No. 1 in only Mexico, with $1.1 million from 560 screens and a $6 million total.
Poseidon claimed first place in 13 of its 14 opening territories, contributing to the disaster picture's $9 million weekend and $70.8 million total. France was the picture's only misstep with a measly second-place $1.5 million from 583 prints. Elsewhere, Poseidon shined. In Argentina, it was 21 percent better than The Perfect Storm with $350,000 from 75 prints. In Peru, it more than doubled Armageddon with $216,000 from 35 prints. It also topped The Perfect Storm in Chile with $164,000 from 45 prints.
Early in its foreign campaign, Cars added $8.4 million over the weekend for a $15.4 million total, crippled by a disappointing opening in France, where it posted one of Pixar's worst openings—$2.8 million from 700 sites. For perspective, Finding Nemo did more than $13 million in its first five days. However, Cars had Pixar's best opening ever in Russia, with $2 million from 300 screens. Cars also debuted in Hungary, topping The Incredibles by 77 percent with $200,000 from 34 screens. Among holdovers, it slowed 45 percent in Australia to $1.7 million from 371 screens, and its $6.4 million total there is 54 percent of what The Incredibles had at the same point.
The Break-Up brought in $3.2 million over the weekend for a $6.6 million total. Mexico's $938,653 start from 169 screens was better than Along Came Polly and Wedding Crashers. The Break-Up also topped Jennifer Aniston's previous best (Polly) in Russia, with $645,231 from 187 screens.
In Spain, Over the Hedge opened to $2.3 million at 369 screens, a number better than what both Toy Story 2 and Monsters, Inc. did there. Overall, the computer-animated comedy has racked up $18.8 million thus far.
The weekend's champion was too close to call as grosses were greatly overestimated. The Da Vinci Code posted a $14.2 million weekend from 7,466 screens, while X-Men: The Last Stand was somewhere in the same neighborhood. Thanks to the lack of a German soccer match during the weekend, Da Vinci bettered last weekend's result by four percent, grossing $1.4 million for a $43.2 million total. Japan's match on Sunday was a hindrance, but Da Vinci still managed to fall 27 percent there to $3.2 million for a $62.9 million total.
Italy's primetime match against the United States on Saturday contributed to The Da Vinci Code 68 percent tumble to $547,732 for a $35.9 million total. Despite that, the thriller remained in first place there, as well as Denmark ($7.7 million total), Netherlands ($7.4 million), Austria ($6.4 million), Sweden ($6.1 million) and Belgium ($6.1 million).
All told, The Da Vinci Code has amassed $479 million, ranking as the 13th highest-grossing picture of all time internationally.
Driven by a studio-best opening in South Korea, X-Men: The Last Stand vied with Da Vinci Code for the foreign top spot. 20th Century Fox's action sequel dominated the market with $5.9 million from 353 screens. The mutants also hit Taiwan, generating $1.4 million from 166 screens, more than doubling X2: X-Men United. Overall, the picture has minted $182.5 million.
Making its foreign debut, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift was solid but lagged behind its predecessors. The franchise's third installment grossed $7.9 million from eight nations. Leading the way was the United Kingdom's $3.2 million from 376 screens, which was 70 percent of 2 Fast 2 Furious's opening but 23 percent better than the original, The Fast and the Furious. Tokyo Drift also landed on top in franchise-friendly Australia, nabbing $2.3 million from 187 screens. Openings throughout the smaller territories were good, including Denmark ($257,881 from 29 screens), Malaysia ($575,502 from 39) and Thailand ($696,675 from 59).
Garfield: A Tale of Two Kitties also saw softer returns than its predecessor. The family comedy was best in Brazil with $1.5 million from 379 screens and had moderate starts in Singapore ($244,000 from 29) and the Philippines ($143,000 from 50). Garfield: The Movie was a surprise international hit finishing with $123.2 million, a height Two Kitties is unlikely to attain.
The Omen was cursed by a steep drop to $9.1 million, but its total rose to $47.6 million. The horror remake remained at No. 1 in only Mexico, with $1.1 million from 560 screens and a $6 million total.
Poseidon claimed first place in 13 of its 14 opening territories, contributing to the disaster picture's $9 million weekend and $70.8 million total. France was the picture's only misstep with a measly second-place $1.5 million from 583 prints. Elsewhere, Poseidon shined. In Argentina, it was 21 percent better than The Perfect Storm with $350,000 from 75 prints. In Peru, it more than doubled Armageddon with $216,000 from 35 prints. It also topped The Perfect Storm in Chile with $164,000 from 45 prints.
Early in its foreign campaign, Cars added $8.4 million over the weekend for a $15.4 million total, crippled by a disappointing opening in France, where it posted one of Pixar's worst openings—$2.8 million from 700 sites. For perspective, Finding Nemo did more than $13 million in its first five days. However, Cars had Pixar's best opening ever in Russia, with $2 million from 300 screens. Cars also debuted in Hungary, topping The Incredibles by 77 percent with $200,000 from 34 screens. Among holdovers, it slowed 45 percent in Australia to $1.7 million from 371 screens, and its $6.4 million total there is 54 percent of what The Incredibles had at the same point.
The Break-Up brought in $3.2 million over the weekend for a $6.6 million total. Mexico's $938,653 start from 169 screens was better than Along Came Polly and Wedding Crashers. The Break-Up also topped Jennifer Aniston's previous best (Polly) in Russia, with $645,231 from 187 screens.
In Spain, Over the Hedge opened to $2.3 million at 369 screens, a number better than what both Toy Story 2 and Monsters, Inc. did there. Overall, the computer-animated comedy has racked up $18.8 million thus far.
