Transformers 2 boasts huge international weekend gross of $162m

The estimated tally provided by Paramount Pictures International (PPI) came from 9,910 locations in 60 territories.

It put the international take so far for the sci-fi action sequel, which opened in two markets last weekend, at $186.1m, nearly half of the eventual international total - $389m - grossed by the original Transformers in 2007.

In the list of the biggest international weekend takes ever Revenge comes in after the opening weekends of Spider-Man 3, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and ahead of the opening weekend of The Da Vinci Code.

PPI president Andrew Cripps said the weekend performance marked “the beginning of a huge holiday run for the film as audiences are clearly responding very enthusiastically.”

Reuniting director Michael Bay with stars Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox and a cast of giant robots, Revenge was the number one film in all of its 58 new markets, in most of which it was released on Wednesday (June 24).

It opened in China with an estimated $21.9m from 1,000 locations, the biggest opening ever for an English-language film, said PPI, and 65% bigger than the opening take of the original film.

In Korea, the estimated opening gross was $14.9m from 1,038 locations, 41% better than the Thursday-to-Monday take of the original and 320% better than the Thursday-to-Monday opening of The Dark Knight.

Australia produced an opening of $12.9m from 242 locations, 80% up on the original and 37% up on The Dark Knight.

Russia delivered $11.8m from 564 locations, 105% more than the original and 336% more than The Dark Knight (for Thursday to Monday).

The opening take in Germany was $8.9m from 670 locations, 56% up on the original; in Mexico it was $8.1m from 475 locations, 50% up; and in France it was $7.5m from 665 locations, 26% up.

Taiwan produced $6.1m from 62 locations, the highest opening gross ever for the territory; Italy (where the film opened on Friday, June 26) delivered $4.7m from 475 locations; and Brazil added $3.1m from 340 locations.

In its second weekend in the UK the sequel stayed top with a five-day gross of $10.2m, for a total so far in the market of $27m.

PPI did not report a gross for the film’s second weekend in Japan.

The closest competitor for the Transformers sequel in the international marketplace was Terminator Salvation, which grossed an estimated $10.3m from 7,470 screens in the 70 markets handled by Sony Pictures Releasing International (SPRI) and $10.4m overall. The film’s international total now stands at $193.7m for the SPRI markets and $219.5m overall.

Salvation opened in India with $1.3m from 448 screens, the biggest opening of the year for a Hollywood film, said SPRI.

Among holdover markets, Japan added $2.4m from 697 screens, for a territory total so far of $24.8m, and the UK $670,000 from 410 screens, for a territory total of $22.3m.

The Hangover, from Warner Bros Pictures International, held up well, dropping only 31% in its holdover markets and grossing an estimated $10.1m (1.3m admissions) from over 1,250 screens in 29 territories, for an international total to date of $46.2m.

The comedy opened in France and, buoyed by the onset of the annual Fete du Cinema, grossed $1.8m (approximately 250,000 admissions) from 251 screens for second place in the local top ten.

In the UK it dropped just 21% in its second week, ranking second with $2.9m from 425 locations, for a territory total of $18m.

Australia produced a good third weekend holdover of $1.8m, down 28%, from 228 screens, for a local total of $9m.

The Proposal, from Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International (WDSMPI), was strong too, dropping only 34% in holdover markets to gross an estimated $7.2m from 1,650 locations in 13 territories, for a total to date of $22.7m.

In Australia, the romantic comedy slipped 33% in its second weekend to $1.8m from 241 locations, for a total of $6.2m. In Russia it slid 37% in weekend two to $1.7m from 409 locations, for a $5.5m total. And in Mexico it was down 36% in weekend two to $897,000 from 436 locations, for a total of $3.2m.

Winding down in the international marketplace, 20th Century Fox International’s Night at the Museum 2 grossed an estimated $5.2m this weekend from 4,000 screens in 62 markets, pushing its international total to $202.3m.

SPRI’s Angels & Demons took an estimated $5.1m from 4,215 screens in 75 markets, bringing its international total to $337.5m.

Up dropped a modest 32% in holdover markets to gross $4.7m from 2,064 locations in 15 territories, WDSMPI reported, for an international take to date of $47.1m.

WDSMPI’s Hannah Montana The Movie earned $3m from 2,232 sites in 35 territories, for an international total of $56.1m.

State of Play, from Universal Pictures International (UPI), grossed an estimated $4.3m from 1,600 dates in 40 territories and raised its international total to $41.5m.

The thriller opened, through Studio Canal, at number three in France with $2.4m from 300 dates.

UPI’s Coraline added an estimated $1.6m from 1,393 dates in 24 territories, for a total of $36.1m. The studio’s Land of the Lost grossed an estimated $770,000 from 540 dates in five markets, for a total of $7m.

Drag Me To Hell grossed an estimated $450,000 from 330 dates in three markets through UPI and an estimated $700,000 from 1,000 screens in territories handled by Mandate International. UPI’s total for the film now stands at $2.9m and Mandate’s at $19.6m.

SPRI’s Year One took an estimated $2.4m from 583 screens in five markets, for a total of $4.4m to date. The comedy opened at number three in the UK with $1.6m from 388 screens.

With only Japan still to open, Fox International’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine added an estimated $391,346 from 1,774 screens in nine markets, for an international total of $184.6m.

Fox’s Notorious opened in France, one of the few remaining markets where Fox has rights, with $411,568 from 137 screens, for a total to date in Fox territories of $6.7m.