Weak overseas session still pushes Batman sequel's total foreign gross $18.1 million past "Dark Knight"'s $469.7 million; No. 2 "Total Recall" tops in France and Brazil while "Expendables 2" flexes muscle in three markets.
A lethargic late-summer session on the foreign circuit still generated enough box office momentum to propel The Dark Knight Rises to the No. 1 spot for the fifth consecutive round, and to push the film’s overseas gross total past that of its franchise predecessor, 2008’s The Dark Knight.
The $20.6-million weekend tally recorded by Rises in 61 offshore markets (down 42% from last weekend) was the 2012’s third lowest for a No. 1-ranked title. Still, as per Warner Bros., directorChristopher Nolan’s final Batman title hoisted its foreign cume to $487.8 million -- $18.1 million more than Dark Knight’s $469.7 million.
That gap should widen since Rises opens in Greece this week, China on Aug. 27 and in Italy on Aug. 29. The two biggest Risesmarkets to date by far are the U.K. (market cume of $77.7 million over five rounds) and Australia ($40.5 million also over five stanzas).
The weekend’s notable foreign circuit newcomer was The Expendables 2 costarring Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Chuck Norris, Jean-Claude Van Dammes and Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Universal opened the Millennium Films-Nu Image Films action sequel in Russia where it took the top market spot with $7.9 million drawn from 750 sites, 45% bigger than the opening market tally grossed by 2010’s The Expendables. In Italy, Universal recorded a No. 1 debut gross of $2 million at 259 playdates, 58% more than the original’s opening market tally.
Lionsgate, the sequel’s U.S. distributor, is also handling the film in the U.K. where the opening tally was an estimated $2.8 million (including previews) at some 450 situations. Russia, Italy, U.K. total comes to an estimated $12.7 million. (The original Expendables grossed a total $171.4 million overseas versus $103.1 million in the U.S. and Canada.)
Opening No. 1 in France and Brazil was Sony’s Total Recall, which generated $19 million on the weekend at a total of 5,900 screens in 53 markets. The remake, starring Colin Farrell, of the 1990 Carolco Pictures original starring Schwarzenegger, made its foreign debut on Aug.1, and has collected a foreign gross total of $58.2 million thus far.
Biggest market was South Korea, where Recall premiered No. 3 after two local productions with $5.2 million extracted from 439 sites. France came up with $3.5 million from 524 locales while Brazil kicked in $2 million at 448 venues. Recall ranks as the weekend’s No. 2 title.
No. 3,The Bourne Legacy--the fourth episode of the espionage franchise inspired by Robert Ludlum’s novels--co-starring Jeremy Renner, Rachel Weisz and Edward Norton, broadened its run by five territories, and drew $18.2 million from 2,042 locations in 18 territories in all.
Legacy’s No. 3 U.K. debut generated $7.4 million (including previews) at 498 sites while its first-place Australia opener contributed $4.9 million at 251 sites, which distributor Universal said represented a 37% market share. A No. 3 Spain introduction generated $2.5 million (including previews) at 353 spots. Mexico opens this week.
Fourth was Marvel’s The Avengers, which is winding up its spectacular 17-round foreign campaign (grossing $863.9 million to date) with a stop in Japan. The Disney release generated $18 million (including previews) in its full opening stanza there. Worldwide take for the comic book action caper weighs in at $1.482 billion.
No. 5 was Pixar’s animation title Brave, also distributed by Disney, which has accumulated $179.2 million overseas so far thanks in part to a $14.4 million weekend playing in 46 territories. The film’s $408.3 million global cume makes Brave the 11th consecutive Pixar title to exceed the $400-million gross benchmark worldwide.
Ted, director Seth MacFarlane’s comedy-fantasy starring Mark Wahlberg, pushed its international gross total to $138.4 million (with 32 territories still to play) thanks to a $11.8 million weekend at 2,750 locations in 26 markets. A No. 2 third round holdover in the U.K. produced $3.1 million at 456 sites for a 17-day market cume of $34.5 million. Greece and Hungary open this week via distributor Universal.
Hoisting its foreign cume nearly to the $650-million mark ($647.3 million) was Twentieth Century-Fox’s Ice Age: Continental Drift, which bagged $10.1 million on the weekend at 7,055 venues in 58 territories. The animation sequel is breathing harder on its 2009 franchise predecessor, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, which grossed$694million overseas.
Lionsgate’s release of Summit Entertainment’s Step Up Revolution looks to dance away with $9.2 million from some 2,700 screens in 33 markets, lifting the sequel’s foreign cume to $46.3 million (worldwide, $83.4 million).
The latest title in the dance-drama series costarring Kathryn McCormick and Ryan Guzman has grossed $13.6 million from territories handled by Universal including France where Revolutionregistered a No. 4 weekend of $1.4 million at 251 locations for a 12-day market cume of $4.8 million.
DreamWorks Animation’s Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted, currently in its 11th round of overseas playdates, grossed $5.7 million on the weekend at 2,226 locations in 42 territories. Overseas cume for the Paramount release stands at $352.3 million. Openings in Italy and Italian-speaking Switzerland are on tap this week.
Universal’s release of ParaNorman, Laika Entertainment’s 3D stop motion animation follow-up toCaroline, drew $2 million on the weekend at 940 sites in nine markets for an overseas cume so far of $7.6 million. Openings in six territories including Germany and Russia are due this week.
Opening sluggishly at No. 8 in France was director Anne Le Ny’s drama/fantasy Cornouaille(Cornwall) starring Vanessa Paradis. The UGC Distribution release about a young woman visiting the house owned by her deceased father drew an estimated $870,000 from 350 situations.
Other international cumes: Fox’s Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, $44.5 million (after a $1.7 weekend at 1,569 situations in 17 markets); Universal’s What To Expect When You’re Expecting, $6.2 million in Universal territories only; Paramount’s The Dictator, $110 million; Fox’s Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days, $8.8 million; Paramount’s Katy Perry: Part of Me, $6.6 million; and Fox’s Prometheus, $201.9 million.
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