Alice eases past $200m with $76m overseas weekend

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International followed up last weekend’s record winter launch in fine style with winter’s biggest second weekend as Tim Burton’s fantasy played in 6,621 theatres in 48 territories.

Studio sources said almost 70% or $152m of the cumulative total has come from 3D screens. With only a handful of new releases in smaller territories, weekend business was powered by $71.5m in holdovers for an overall decline of 27%.

The UK led the second weekend charge on $10.8m (£7.1m) from 755 theatres following a 33% drop for $34m (£22.5m), almost doubling the sum reached by Pirates Of The Caribbean: The Curse Of The Black Pearl over its first ten days.

In Russia a further $10.6m (310m roubles) from 576 raised the tally to $32.2m (954.7m roubles) for what has already become Disney’s biggest and the industry’s fifth biggest film in history. A $9.3m (€6.8m) haul in Italy from 730 for $28.7m (€21m) has delivered Disney’s biggest live-action release and the film is rclose to becoming the third biggest industry release in history.

Alice grossed $7.1m (€5.2m) in Germany from 486 for $16.4m (€12m) and will soon overtake the €13.8m mark set by Planet Of The Apes to become Burton’s biggest hit there. In Australia $5.9m (AU$6.4m) from 268 boosted the running total to $18.6m (AU$20.5m).

In Mexico the film has already overtaken the entire run of Pirates Of The Caribbean: The Curse Of The Black Pearl as $5.1m (64.1m pesos) from 781 resulted in $16.1m (203.8m pesos). Alice is projected to overtake Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest by mid-week to rank as Disney’s third biggest live-action release.

Finally South Korea generated a further $4.7m (5.3m KRW) from 395 for $11.4m (12.9m KRW) and has already overtaken Pirates Of The Caribbean: The Black Pearl.

The debuts in Benelux, Finland, India Slovakia, Ukraine combined for an additional $4.5m. Still to come are France on March 24, China on March 26, Spain on April 16, Japan on April 17, and Brazil on April 21.

• Shutter Island secured second place with $19.2m, $14.1m of which came from 2,702 sites in 38 Paramount markets through PPI. Martin Scorsese’s thriller has now generated $82m; $52.3m through Paramount.

The film debuted in 18 territories, grossing $3.5m in second place behind Alice In Wonderland in the UK from 417 venues, and setting a new career best for Scorsese in Brazil, where it opened top on $1.1m from 158. Mexico generated $772,000 from 301.

France led the holdovers on $2.9m from 553 for $17.3m after only three weeks. Among the non-Paramount territories, the most significant contributions came from Germany ($1.9m 481), Italy ($1.8m from 380), and Spain ($1m from 379).

The Lovely Bones added $2.2m from 2,041 in 44 for $45m and Up In The Airtook $1.5m from 1,253 in 58 territories for a very respectable $75m.

• Avatar earned $17.3m from 4,106 screens in 69 markets in its 13^th weekend, according to confirmed digures on Monday [March 15], bringing the international running total to a staggering $1.913bn and the global tally to $2.644bn.

Based on estimates, Fox International’s titan added $3.1m in Japan from 450 screens to rank as the ninth biggest industry release on $155.8m. The film crossed $100m in its eighth territory, Australia, where it currently stands at $100.2m. Avatar has reached $188m in China, the film’s biggest overseas market.

Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief added $7.1m from 4,703 in 59 for $121.6m and launched in Italy on approximately $1.8m from 323. It added $1.2m in its third weekend in Japan from 562 for $11.6m.

Crazy Heart, buoyed by a double Oscar win last weekend including best actor for Jeff Bridges, launched in seventh place in Argentina on $46,592 from ten and overall stands at $3.9m from 21 after a $953,912 weekend haul. The UK has returned $1.2m after four weekends.

Turning to Fox local language productions, My Name Is Khan has grossed $31.9m, $22.7m of which comes from India, $3.9m from the US and $4m from the UK, all after five weekends. Hot Summer Days stands at $19.6m and has taken $18.6m from China.

• Universal/UPI’s thriller Green Zone grossed $9.7m from 1,562 sites in its first wave of 14 territories day-and-date with North America. The top market was the UK where the film ranked third on $3.3m from 419 and there was a strong launch in Australia on second place on $1.9m from 212. The film opened top in Spain on $1.7m from 306 and ranked third in Russia on $880,000 from 291. There are 48 territories to open over the next few months including Germany, Austria and Switzerland next weekend.

It’s Complicatedwill cross $100m next weekend after $2.2m from 1,200 venues in 30 territories raised the international total to $98m. The romantic comedy launched in fourth place in South Korea on $617,000 from 159 dates. There are 11 territories to go including Italy on March 19.

The Wolfman added $1.6m from 3,300 in 57 territories for $74m and there are five territories to open including Israel on April 1 and Japan on April 22.

The German family film Die Teufelskicker that Universal is releasing in German-speaking Europe and Belgium grossed $1m from the region from 540 sites. It opened in eighth place in Germany on $770,000 from 426 locations.

• Confirmed results issued on Monday [March 15] by Warner Bros Pictures International reveal that Sherlock Holmes added $6.6m, higher than initially estimated over the weekend. from more than 1,888 screens in 31 markets for $291m and opened in second place behind Doraemon in Japan on $4.6m from 441 screens including previews.

A $1m Italian debut pushed Valentine’s Day over the $100m mark to $101. Overall the romantic comedy added $3.2m from more than 2,389 screens in 56 markets and has reached $15.8m in the UK, $13.7m in Australia, $9.4m in France, and $8.2m in Germany.

Invictus grossed $2.3m from 1,798 in 44 for $83.4m and has taken the most in France on $26.7m. The UK has generated $7.3m, Spain $10.3m, and Japan $9m. The Blind Side benefited from Sandra Bullock’s Oscar win and added $1.8m from 376 in 16 for an early $10.4m. The drama added $1.3m in its third weekend in Australia from 222 for $7.1m and is set to launch in Brazil and Mexico on March 19, followed by Germany on March 25 and the UK on March 26.

• The Men Who Stare At Goats added $2.6m through Sony Pictures Releasing International from 435 screens in three territories for $5.5m and launched in France on $1.3m from 154 and added $1m in its second weekend in Spain from 220 for $3.2m.

Did You Hear About The Morgans? opened in seventh place in Japan on $750,000 from 231 and has reached $50.9m internationally. CBS Films’ Extraordinary Measures debuted in Spain in ninth place on $525,000 from 210 and stands at 41.2m overseas, while Legion debuted in Italy on $400,000 from 107 and has grossed $12.5m overseas.

• Summit International reported that its new Robert Pattinson drama Remember Me grossed approximately $1.6m from 530 sites in nine markets this weekend, among them Australia, New Zealand and Brazil.