International Box Office - July 09 - 11

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse

Summit Entertainment’s The Twilight Saga: Eclipse continued to lead the way at the international box office, taking $73.7m from 9157 screens in 53 territories. There was clear daylight between Eclipse and Paramount’s resilient Shrek Forever After which took $56.4m (a 33% increase in weekly revenue) from 6987 screens in its eighth week.

Despite being overtaken by Universal’s Despicable Me at the US box Office Eclipse performed well overseas. The third instalment in the franchise posted strong figures in the UK, where it recorded the biggest opening weekend for any film at the local box office in 2010. While its $20.6m UK take did include preview screenings the total was impressive nevertheless considering the film debuted on a particularly warm weekend and coincided with Sunday’s world cup final (watched by over 18m in UK) and the British Grand Prix.

Eclipse hit top gear in France where it also recorded a 2010 best opening weekend to date taking $12.5m between July 07 -11 and in South Korea where the film made $4.8m from 8,037 screens.

Eclipse opens in Austria, Germany and Switzerland on July 15, and in Japan on November 13.  

Predators

Twentieth Century Fox’s Predators was the highest new entry on the international chart, entering in fourth position. The third film in the action sci-fi franchise made $17.3m from 3,155 screens. Nimrod Antal’s update has already posted better international debut figures than Fox’s most recent Predator spinoff Alien vs Predator: Requiem which took $16.4m over the 2007 Christmas holiday and it should outperform the underwhelming Predator 2 , released in 1990. With openings in France and Italy on July 14 and in Spain on August 13, Fox will be hoping the film can emulate the Arnold Schwarzenegger fuelled success of the first in the Predator franchise.

Bayside Shakedown 3: Set The Boys Loose

In eighth position Toho’s Bayside Shakedown 3 clung to the accolade of highest non US entry on the international chart. The popular Japanese franchise grossed $7.5m from 447 local screens.

Pokemon 2010

One place behind Bayside is the same distributor’s new entry Pokemon 2010 which made $7m from 369 domestic screens, giving the animated feature the week’s highest screen average of $19,142.

Despicable Me

United International Pictures’ Despicable Me entered the chart in tenth position, taking $5m from 363 screens in four territories. The healthy screen average of $13, 582 bodes well for Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud’s family comedy which rolls out internationally across the summer and autumn.