Guardians Of The Galaxy rules global box office on $161.4m debut

WALT DISNEY STUDIOS MOTION PICTURES INTERNATIONAL

UPDATE: Guardians Of The Galaxy arrived in Russia on $13m, the UK on $10.8m, Mexico on $6.5m, Brazil on $5.4m and South Korea on $4.7m. Disney executives said all but one of the 42 debuts ranked number one.

Still to come are debuts in Australia, where the action film arrives this week, China, France, Spain, Germany, Japan and Italy.

Guardians Of The Galaxy will open in France on August 13, Germany on August 28, Japan on September 13 and Italy on October 22.

The overall Imax haul amounted to a record $17m global haul, smashing the previous August mark of $5.9m set by Elysium in 2013.

The international Imax tally came to $5.3m from 157 screens. The UK generated $1m from 29 and Russia $1m from 34.

Guardians Of The Galaxy stars Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel and Lee Pace. James Gunn co-wrote and directed.

Planes: Fire & Rescue added $4.4m in its third weekend from 30 territories to reach $30.9m. The family release stands at $4.1m in Mexico, $4m in France, $3.1m in Brazil, $3m in Japan, $2.9m in both Spain and Argentina. It opens in the UK this week. Maleficent added $3.3m to stand at $492.5m.

FOX INTERNATIONAL

UPDATE: Last weekend’s champion Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes continued its good progress, adding a confirmed $47.8m from 73 markets through Fox International to settle on $261m with debuts still to come in China, Japan and Germany.

A mighty $14.1m debut in France from 799 fired up weekend business, producing the biggest debut of 2014 so far. Similarly, Belgium delivered the top debut of the year-to-date on $1.6m from 100.

Apes opened top in Italy on $2.7m from 602 and arrived in second place in the UAE on $1.9m from 62.

The UK led the holdovers on $5.1m from 1,013 for $40.1m after three weekends, while Brazil produced $4.2m from 800 for $16.4m after two and Mexico generated $3.9m from 2,372 for $20.1m after the same period. In the third weekend in Spain, Apes added $1.5m from 559 for $13m.

Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes reached $305m by the end of its run and at this pace Dawn could overtake it within a week.

DreamWorks Animation’s How To Train Your Dragon 2 is days away from breaching $300m as $19.9m from 54 for $296.7m. The family feature opened top in Spain on $2.9m from 834 and added $3.1m in Germany for $11.5m after two sessions. The UK has produced $30.1m after four. South Korea stands at $17.8m after two from non-Fox.

The Fault In Our Stars added $2.4m from 38 to stand at $140.9m, opening at number four in Hong Kong on $345,944 on 73 screens.

CHINA UPDATE

Wuxia fantasy 3D release The White Haired Witch Of Lunar Kingdom opened in China on $40m. Girl Friends grossed $13m. The House That Never Dies added $3m for $61.5m.

PARAMOUNT PICTURES INTERNATIONAL

UPDATE: Hercules plundered a further $15.4m from 35 territories in the second weekend through Paramount Pictures International to reach $57.9m. The worldwide tally has reached $110.6m.

In holdovers, Dwayne Johnson and Co added $3.2m in Russia from 962 for $18.6m, $1.5m in the UK from 442 for $6.2m and $1.4m in Australia from 226 for $5.6m. Hercules opened in the Netherlands on $578,000 from 75 venues.

Transformers: Age Of Extinction added $19.5m in its sxith weekend to stand at $764.4m and has crossed $1bn worldwide. IN the third weekend Germany added $3.7m from 665 sites for $30.2m, France $2.1m from 890 for $19.7m after three and Brazil $1.7m from 470 for $25.3m. UAE scroed a huge $2.6m debut.

WARNER BROS PICTURES INTERNATIONAL

UPDATE: Godzilla crossed $300m through Warner Bros Pictures International and has breached the $500m worldwide barrier.

The monster film took in $3.4m in its second weekend in Japan to rank second behind local title Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno and reach $15.3m and stands at $307.5m internationally and $508m worldwide.

The aforementioned Warner Entertainment Japan production Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno opened top on $8.1m from 438 screens includinf previews.

Blended grossed $3m from 44 markets to stand at $72m.

SONY PICTURES RELEASING INTERNATIONAL

UPDATE: Sony Pictures Releasing International’s 22 Jump Street generated $6.7m from 45 territories to reach $101.6m as the comedy scored a number one $4.1m debut in Germany from 615 screens including previews. It also debuted at number one in Austria on $579,727 from 74 including previews.

The UK has generated $31.3m, Australia $21.2m, Russia $9.6m and the Netherlands $4.6m. Italy has amassed $519,740 after two weekends.

Sex Tape grossed $4m from 26 markets to reach an early $17.7m. The comedy has produced $4.9m in Russia and $2.4m in Spain after two sessions and $5.6sm in Australia after three.

Deliver Us From Evil grossed $1.2m from 23 territories for $9.7m and opened in Venezuela on $382,068 from 39 screens. The horror film stands at $1.8m in Australia after two weekends.

UNIVERSAL PICTURES INTERNATIONAL

UPDATE: Luc Besson’s thriller Lucy starring Scarlett Johansson began its roll-out through Universal Pictures International, grossing $5m from 376 sites.

The film opened top in Australia on $4.3m from 210 and set a new record for Besson in the process. Bulgaria’s number one $197,000 from 39 established Lucy as Universal’s third biggest launch and there was another Besson record in Romania on a number one $244,000 result from 46. India delivered $242,000 from 81 to arrive in second place.

Universal holds all rights except five territories controlled by Besson’s EuropaCorp: France, Belgium, Netherlands, China and Hong Kong.

The Purge: Anarchy grossed $8.6m from 2,833 sites in 30 territories for $19.2m. The horror sequel debuted in 13 territories including a number four $2m debut in Germany and a number five $635,000 result in Russia.

Mrs. Brown’s Boys D’ Movie has grossed $27.5m and stands at $23.3m in the UK after six weekends. Neighbors has grossed $108.9m and Boyhood has grossed $6.7m from five territories. Universal holds all international territories except France, Belgium and Netherlands. The UK tally has reached $3.2m after 22 days. A Million Ways To Die In The West has reached $43.3m.

LIONSGATE INTERNATIONAL

UPDATE: Lionsgate International’s Step Up All In brought in $6.5m overall for the weekend to stands at $27.1m. It arrived in Portugal on $102,000 from 60 screens and added $817,000 from 334 in France to reach $5.8m after three sessions.

Universal distributes the dance film in 18 territories and scored a $650,000 UK debut from 364. Universal territories contributed $1.5m to the weekend for a $6.7m tally.

• South Korean period epic Kundo: Age Of The Rampant aded $5.1m for a $34m international running total.