International - Pulling a fast one

The weird and the wonderful were up against the fast and the furious in the week’s international box-office chart as PPI’s Monsters Vs Aliens was pitted against UPI’s Fast & Furious, both vying for the number one slot.

Despite grossing $30.3m, Fast & Furious was unable to claim pole position, as Monsters Vs Aliens roared its way to $33.5m in its second weekend from 7,707 screens, bringing its early total to date to $46.9m. The DreamWorks animation took $6.5m (£4.3m) from 520 screens in the UK, keeping Richard Curtis’ local title The Boat That Rocked from a number one debut, despite grossing $2.6m (£1.8m) from 462 screens, including previews.

Monsters Vs Aliens’ tally included $2.9m generated by 172 UK 3D locations, and $233,000 from seven Imax locations, which accounted for 5% of the box office from 1% of the screens. Screen averages in the market were greatly improved by 3D presentations, averaging $17,000 against $7,000 for a conventional screen.

PPI sources said despite unseasonably sunny weather in Europe, the film outperformed comparable 3D releases in most countries in the region, surpassing Bolt by 51% in the UK and Spain and by 22% in Italy. Elsewhere, PPI said the film enjoyed more favourable market conditions and beat the debuts of Boltby 67% in Australia, 34% in Mexico, and 58% in Brazil.

UPI’s Fast & Furious outperformed all previous international openings for the franchise, and alongside the remarkable North American debut of $72.5m the film produced a $100m-plus opening global weekend.

The fourth instalment, which reunites Vin Diesel and Paul Walker, took the top spot in more than 21 markets, including Germany ($6.1m from 605 copies), Spain ($3.7 from 333) and Mexico ($3.6m from 454). The film rolls out in a further 12 territories this weekend, including the UK.