While The Golden Compass was largely responsible for the 14.5% week-on-week increase in the international top 40, two new entries from France made their presence known taking a collective $4.3m.
Roissy Films' comedy L'Auberge Rouge was the second highest new entry, coming in at number nine with a $3.1m take. The film, directed by Gerard Krawczyk (Taxi 2, 3 and 4) played across 904 screens for a $3,398 screen average. The film opened in four territories including Russia, where it enjoyed a $771,012 take over 298 screens.
And animated adventure Tous A L'Ouest: Une Aventure De Lucky Luke opened to $1.2m at the weekend, putting it in the top 30. The film, based on the TV series from Olivier Jean Marie, played on 535 screens for a $2,268 screen average. It is released through Pathe Distribution.
Japan's A Tale Of Mari And Three Puppies was the third highest opener. The drama, based on the true story of three puppies and their mother surviving the 2004 earthquake in Yamakoshi village, generated $2.5m in its home territory. It is distributed by Toho and boasted the second highest screen average at $7,654 across 333 screens.
This, in addition to three strong holdovers released through Toho, made Japanese films accountable for 4% of the top 40 total revenue. Always: Sunset On Third Street 2 fell 29% in its sixth week to number 26. The drama, based on Ryohei Saigan's comic generated $1.3m from 288 screens for a $4,420 screen average. Sky Of Love and Sanjuro dropped 41% and 38% respectively, generating more than $2m collectively.
Eros International's romantic thriller Dus Kahaniyaan is the fifth new entry this weekend. The Indian film opened at number 23, taking nearly $1.4m across 671 screens in 17 territories for a $2,015 screen average. It is a directorial debut for Jasmeet Dhodi, who co-directs with other film-makers including Sanjay Gupta and Apoorva Lakhia.
Elsewhere, four Italian titles generated more than $5.2m, accounting for 3.7% of the chart's total revenue, while Hairspray and Mr Brooks re-entered the chart.
The top 40 international films generated $144.7m from 38,530 screens for the period December 7-9.
| ANALYSIS: INTERNATIONAL BOX-OFFICE WEEKEND DECEMBER 7-9 | ||||||
| (Last | 3-day | |||||
| week) | Film (origin) | gross $ | Scrs | Cume $ | Terr | |
| 1 | New | The Golden Compass (US-UK) | $44,309,927 | 5,263 | $50,960,607 | 27 |
| 2 | (2) | Enchanted (US) | $11,661,094 | 2,521 | $36,514,158 | 22 |
| 3 | (6) | Bee Movie (US) | $10,906,099 | 2,039 | $33,510,703 | 21 |
| 4 | (1) | Beowulf (US) | $9,121,055 | 4,746 | $91,457,176 | 59 |
| 5 | (3) | Hitman (UK-US-Fr) | $8,212,944 | 2,586 | $24,494,089 | 38 |
| 6 | (5) | The Heartbreak Kid (US) | $5,040,131 | 2,029 | $79,441,083 | 46 |
| 7 | (4) | American Gangster (US) | $4,344,946 | 1,575 | $47,283,537 | 20 |
| 8 | (7) | Fred Claus (US) | $4,060,355 | 1,350 | $13,422,653 | 16 |
| 9 | New | L'Auberge Rouge (Fr) | $3,071,799 | 904 | $3,071,799 | 4 |
| 10 | (9) | August Rush (US) | $2,874,541 | 500 | $9,016,099 | 3 |
| 11 | New | A Tale of Mari And Three Puppies (Jap) | $2,548,685 | 333 | $2,548,685 | 1 |
| 12 | (10) | Saw IV (US) | $2,112,195 | 997 | $51,118,062 | 23 |
| 13 | (17) | 1408 (US) | $1,964,660 | 666 | $44,827,547 | 13 |
| 14 | (26) | One Foundation (Chi) | $1,958,703 | 300 | $3,916,287 | 1 |
| 15 | (11) | [Rec] (Sp) | $1,939,663 | 273 | $8,714,141 | 1 |
| 16 | (12) | Warum Manner Nicht Zuhoren ... (Ger) | $1,902,265 | 338 | $4,620,749 | 2 |
| 17 | (8) | Winx Club: Il Segreto Del Regno Perduto (It) | $1,766,128 | 523 | $5,818,616 | 1 |
| 18 | (15) | Matrimonio Alle Bahamas (It) | $1,741,875 | 274 | $14,964,621 | 1 |
| 19 | (18) | Seven Days (S Kor) | $1,685,039 | 270 | $12,246,037 | 1 |
| 20 | (16) | Lust, Caution (Chi-US-HK-Tai) | $1,599,009 | 466 | $45,166,847 | 13 |
| 21 | (21) | The White Angel (Tur) | $1,419,200 | 244 | $8,919,080 | 5 |
| 22 | (14) | Ratatouille (US) | $1,414,321 | 1,726 | $407,877,295 | 21 |
| 23 | New | Dus Kahaniyaan (Ind) | $1,352,087 | 671 | $1,352,087 | 17 |
| 24 | (20) | We Own The Night (US) | $1,328,360 | 405 | $5,893,585 | 9 |
| 25 | (23) | Elizabeth: The Golden Age (UK-US-Fr) | $1,286,482 | 811 | $33,918,460 | 25 |
| 26 | (19) | Always: Sunset On Third Street 2 (Jap) | $1,273,019 | 288 | $28,911,192 | 1 |
| 27 | New | Tous A L'Ouest: Une Aventure ... (Fr) | $1,213,399 | 535 | $1,213,399 | 3 |
| 28 | (22) | Sky Of Love (Jap) | $1,170,618 | 329 | $32,481,697 | 1 |
| 29 | (*) | Mr Brooks (US) | $1,132,695 | 315 | $17,512,793 | 5 |
| 30 | (*) | Hairspray (US) | $1,097,117 | 280 | $80,263,599 | 4 |
| 31 | (25) | The Nanny Diaries (US) | $1,041,117 | 273 | $13,586,075 | 5 |
| 32 | (27) | 30 Days Of Night (US) | $993,979 | 775 | $20,498,327 | 23 |
| 33 | (34) | Michael Clayton (US) | $964,740 | 546 | $29,057,559 | 17 |
| 34 | (29) | Milano Palermo: Il Ritorno (It) | $951,871 | 233 | $5,871,643 | 1 |
| 35 | (40) | Le Grand Chef (S Kor) | $908,470 | 247 | $19,969,689 | 3 |
| 36 | (31) | Resident Evil: Extinction (Aus-Ger-UK-US) | $905,981 | 682 | $95,514,241 | 28 |
| 37 | (13) | Lions For Lambs (US) | $905,401 | 879 | $31,288,176 | 22 |
| 38 | (30) | Sanjuro (Jap) | $875,447 | 325 | $3,675,205 | 1 |
| 39 | (49) | Lezioni Di Cioccolato (It) | $822,187 | 212 | $3,397,829 | 1 |
| 40 | (61) | Mr Magorium's Wonder Emporium (US) | $822,065 | 801 | $4,193,795 | 11 |
| (c) Screen International, compiled by Leonard Klady. | ||||||
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