UPI's Despicable Me rules international with $26m haul

Despicable Me, which according to UPI was the top international release last weekend on $18m, was active in 4,900 sites in 54 territories and has amassed an impressive $168.6m overseas. It crossed the $400m global mark on Saturday [16].

The family animation stormed into nine new markets led by a number one $6.2m result in the UK from 522 that delivered Universal’s second biggest and fourth number one result of the year-to-date.

Italy delivered an excellent $4.3m from 490 dates to rank second behind local title Benvenuti Al Sod. The Netherlands produced an excellent $1m number one debut from 170.

Strong holds played their part in the film’s ongoing success. Despicable Me ranked third in France to produce $4.4m from 655 in its second weekend for $10.8m and stayed top for the third weekend in Germany on $3.8m from 766 for $16.2m. Spain held on to number one in the second weekend as $2.3m from 575 boosted the tally to $8.2m.

Charlie St Cloud grossed $1.6m from 1,166 sites in 16 territories for $10.7m, while Devil stands at $12.3m and The American has grossed $6.1m and opened in Argentina on $135,000 from 35 sites. Senna has grossed $560,000 in Japan after two weekends and opens in Brazil on November 12.

• Sony Pictures Releasing International (SPRI) enjoyed another solid weekend across the board as Eat Pray Love delivered $13.3m from 4,075 screens in 67 markets to elevate the running total to $86.8m.

Key drivers were Australia, where the film held on to number one on $2.1m from 330 for $6.9m, and Germany, where $1.3m from 519 in the fourth weekend boosted the tally to $10.3m.

In other notable performances, the drama has taken $6.8m in Brazil after three, $6.7m in the UK after four, $5.2m in France after four and $3.8m in Russia after two.

The Social Network brought in $12.8m from 1,780 screens in 18 markets to raise the early tally to $17.3m. The film delivered David Fincher’s best UK launch with $3.9m from 439 for second place and opened in the top three in France on $3.6m from 351. Spain produced $1.7m from 352 for second and Germany produced a good hold as $1.9m from 367 raised the status to $5.4m and third place after the second weekend.

Resident Evil: Afterlife continues to storm across the globe, adding $4.3m through SPRI for $166.9m and $5.8m through all distributors for $207.4m from 44 markets.

In two impressive franchise debut records, Resident Evil: Afterlife opened third in Australia on $1.9m from 189 and pulled off a thunderous $565,000 number one in Argentina from 98. The film has amassed more than $52m in Japan.

The Other Guys added $4.3m from 1,425 in 37 for $33.8m after opening fourth in Germany on $2.2m from 353. The UK has generated $12m after five weekends. Grown Ups added $1.6m from 830 in 41 for $105.5m.

• Legend Of The Guardians: The Owls Of Ga’Hoole added $9.5m from roughly 4,600 screens in 46 markets through Warner Bros Pictures International to raise the early score to $41.6m. The family adventure opened in Germany on $1.1m and held on to number one in its second weekend in Mexico on $1.3m for $4.5m. The tally in Brazil after two weekends stands at $5.1m.

Crime thriller The Town grossed $6m from roughly 1,675 screens for $26.6m and opened well in Australia on $2m. Italy added $818,000 in the second weekend for $2.5m while France generated a further $750,000 for $7.5m. The UK stands at $7m after four and Germany $2.4m after the same amount of time.

Life As We Know It generated $4.6m from 1,455 screens for an early $7.4m. Russia generated a $1.1m debut while Mexico generated $900,000. The UK has produced $3.5m after two weekends. Inception has amassed $521.1m.

• Fox International executives are riding high after announcing $2.5bn in combined ticket sales in 2010 with ten weeks of the year remaining. The achievement improved on Fox International’s 2009 record of $2.45bn. Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps earned a further $7.2m from 3,969 screens in 60 markets as the tally climbed to $49.4m. China delivered $2.2m from 1,200 in a number one launch, while in the second weekend Spain and the UK added $1.1m from 349 for $4.6m and $1.1m from 447 for $4.9m, respectively.

Vampires Suck added $3.3m from 1,250 in 17 for $35.8m, taking a $1.7m bite out of the UK from 361 screens for a third place debut, while Japanese audiences continued to reward Knight & Day as the action comedy added $2.6m from 590 for $13.3m after two weekends. The film ranks second behind local title The Last Message. Italy has returned $2.4m after the same amount of time and the international running total stands at a robust $171.5m.

Nosso Lar has become only the second local film ever to cross $20m in Brazil after $478,369 boosted the tally to $20.2m after seven. Predators has reached $75m while Avatar stands at $2.02bn.

• Toy Story 3 consolidated its place in history and currently ranks as Disney’s third biggest overseas release on $645.3m. It is the industry’s eighth biggest release and sits a mere $900,000 behind Warner Bros’ Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix.

Overall the film added roughly $600,000 in a weekend that produced a further $300,000 from Scandinavia to raise the tally for the region to $15m. The worldwide figure is $1.058bn and the family animation ranks as the biggest release of the year and fifth in the all-time roster behind Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest on $1.066bn, The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King on $1.119bn, Titanic on $1.843bn, and Avatar on $2.772bn.

WDSMPI’s The Sorcerer’s Apprentice added $600,000 for $151.1m and global box office stands at $214.1m. You Again added $1m for an early $3.3m.

• Paramount/PPI’s The Last Airbender took $1m from 975 sites in 61 territories as the international running total climbed to an impressive $183.3m.

Dinner For Schmucks grossed $863,000 from 690 venues in 22 for $11.9m, while Made In Dagenham added $615,000 in the UK from 367 for $4.1m after three weekends.