World surrenders to G.I. Joe's $100m box office breach

Launched through PPI, the action film based on the Hasbro property – whose action figurines will be more familiar to UK audiences and others as Action Man – fared best in South Korea, where it grossed $5.6m from 428 sites.

In a pair of notable number one debuts Channing Tatum, Sienna Miller, Dennis Quaid and friends took $4.8m from 900 in China and $4.6m from 537 in Russia. They also opened in the UK on $2.9m from 442 and stormed to the top in Spain on $2.7m from 460 and Mexico on $2.2m from 473.

Elsewhere the action romp took $3.3m in France from 495, $2.4m in Japan from 261, and $1.9m in Australia from 197. Brazil delivered $1.1m from 49 and Belgium produced $473,000 from 50, both at number one.

In a string of table topping premieres across Asia, G.I. Joe: The Rise Of Cobra made off with $1.4m from 62 in Taiwan despite the impact of the typhoon that closed cinemas on Thursday and Friday, and took $1.2m from 26 in Singapore (although Disney is claiming top spot for Up), $1.2m from 106 in the Philippines, $1.1m from 49 in Thailand, $1.1m from 74 in Malaysia, and $648,000 from 35 in Hong Kong.

• Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen raised its impressive tally by $1.4m from 2,658 sites in 63 territories to $425.6m.
  
  
• Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince surged towards $550m through Warner Bros Pictures International thanks to a $22.6m haul from 11,800 screens in 64 markets that drew a crowd of around 2.76million. The latest tally stands at $542.2m and the worldwide total is $816m.

Among the highlights were the UK on $2.3m from 532 venues for $72.5m, Japan on $3.4m from 660 screens for $59.6m, Germany on $2.9m from 1,373 screens for $54.3m, France on $2.7m from 1,028 screens for $45.8m, Australia on $1.3m from 376 screens for $29.1m, and Italy in first place on $720,000 from 750 screens for $25.2m.

The fantasy saga has reached $20.4m in Mexico, $18.4m in Spain, $18m in Russia, $17.6m in Brazil, $13.5m in South Korea, and $3.8m in Argentina, where it ranks number one. Greece is gearing up for Potter mania on August 25.

• Comedy smash The Hangover added $6.8m from 2,190 screens in 44 territories for a fine $124.6m international running total. The film has amassed more than $386m worldwide and stands at $34.7m in the UK, $16.6m in Australia, $12.8m in France, $11.3m in Germany, $5.2m in Russia, $4.9m in Italy, and $4.2m in Holland. It opens in Spain and Mexico this week followed by Brazil on August 21.
  
• Disney releases grossed more than $30m in total over the session, driven by Up with $16.9m from 2,442 in 21 for $108.8m, as well as good outings for The Proposal and G-Force.
  
• Pixar’s Up dominated France for the second consecutive weekend as $5.3m from 716 sites elevated the total to $17.1m following last weekend’s excellent launch. The animated release also stayed top in Spain for the second weekend in a row, adding $3.8m from 547 for $16.3m, which is already 7% greater than the entire run of Wall-E.

In a record start in China’s rapidly accelerating market, Up took $3.3m (RMB 22.3m) from 300 screens for Disney’s biggest animated launch ever, almost quadrupling what the company achieved with Bolt and more than trebling the previous Pixar launch record set by Finding Nemo.

The film took $1.1m from 400 in South Korea for a $5m running total that is tracking well ahead of Wall-E and Ratatouille at comparable stages. There was another record for a Pixar launch in Singapore on $1m from 65 sites, where Disney’s claim of a number one launch will no doubt raise eyebrows at PPI, who believe G.I. Joe: The Rise Of Cobra is the champion on $1.2m. The film stands at $2.6m in Hong Kong.

The Proposal earned $6.3m from 2,809 theatres in 36 territories for a very useful $92.3m, fired up by $2.3m in Germany from 610 sites that raised the tally to $8.9m. The UK delivered a further $1.3m from 430 for $15m.

G-Force added $6.2m from 2,052 sites in 16 territories for $27.2m. The UK produced $2.1m from 496 for $10.5m in all, while Mexico generated $1.4m from 675 and second place for $6.2m The film extended its rule in Colombia and Venezuela and has achieved $1.3m in both territories. The Benelux has produced $2.2m. Finally Bolt added $1.4m in Japan from 462 sites for $6.8m with the Obon holiday period in its infancy. Overall the animated film has grossed $191.6m.

• Fox International’s formidable animated hit Ice Age 3: Dawn Of The Dinosaurs – already the biggest animated release in international history – reaped a further $14.7m from 7,833 screens in 66 markets to reach $579.7m. Executives said most market declines were in the 30-50% range, adding that the film continued to rank among the top five in many markets. In Venezuela, Ice Age 3 became the first film ever to cross $10m in the market

The film is expected to cross $600m later this month with debuts lined up in South Korea on August 12, and the final market of Italy on August 28.

Aliens In The Attic earned $421,709 from 396 screens in four markets for an early $1.3m running total. The international run begins in earnest next weekend with openings in UK, Spain, Italy, Puerto Rico, Argentina and Malaysia, followed by the remaining territories throughout the autumn.

Night At The Museum 2: Battle Of The Smithsonian opens in its final market of Japan next weekend and stands at $213.6m.

• Universal’s Public Enemiesgrossed $7.5m through UPI in 3,200 venues in 44 territories for a Universal tally of $62.3m, which puts the film roughly on a par with American Gangster and about 13% ahead of director Michael Mann’s earlier release Miami Vice.

The gangster tale debuted in Germany in third place on $2.2m from 395, and opened in third place in Austria on $275,000 from 73. It added $1.4m in Australia from 229 sites for $4.9m after two weekends, and opens next weekend in South Korea and Spain, among others.

Coraline grossed $1.3m from 530 venues to stand at an excellent $41.5m after launching in Australia in sixth place on $1.2m from 213 and seventh in New Zealand on $75,000 from 56. Germany and Austria are coming up on August 13 and 14, respectively.

Bruno added $810,000 from 1,300 sites in Universal’s eight territories for $51.1m, while horror release Drag Me To Hell has taken $6m through Universal markets, and TV adaptation Land Of The Lost stands at $11.3m through eight Universal releases.

Funny People, last weekend’s number one release in North America, added $250,000 from 197 in its second weekend in Russia for $850,000.

• In its two maiden voyages, Sony Pictures Releasing International’s romantic comedy The Ugly Truth launched at number one in the UK and Australia on $3.4m from 400 screens and $2.8m from 281, respectively.

The Taking Of Pelham 123added $4.6m from 1,650 in 27 for $27.3m after securing a trio of top five launches in the Scandinavian markets of Sweden, Norway and Denmark.

Terminator Salvation added $1.1m from 865 screens in 22 markets for $244.2m. The sci-fi action release ranks second in Mexico and grossed $1.1m from 771 screens in the second weekend for $5.6m.