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Sony Pictures Releasing International's (Spri) Quantum Of Solace soared to the top of Screen's international box-office chart, with a substantial take of $40m from its initial release in just three territories: France, Sweden and the UK.
The 22nd film in the Bond franchise broke records in the UK where the film had the best ever standard three-day debut of $25m (£15.4m) across the October 31-November 2 weekend, outperforming the previous record of $24.1m (£14.9m), held by Warner Bros' Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire. The latest Bond accounted for 70% of the UK box office and with 540 engagements, it recorded a staggering $46,309 screen average.
Quantum Of Solace also performed well in France taking over $10m from 824 screens, the second highest opening of the year behind Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull. Quantum's three-day openings were up against Casino Royale by 17% in France and 35% in the UK, while in Sweden the film rose 31%, with $2.7m from 149 screens. Across the three territories the film played on 2,114 screens for a $19,000 average.
Spri will greatly expand the release this coming weekend (November 7-9), debuting in a further 57 territories including Germany, Russia, Italy and South Korea. The following weekend sees the film make its North American debut, alongside Mexico, before opening in Australia on November 19, Spain on November 21 and Japan in January 2009.
With this structured release in place, and with the momentum gathered by its record-breaking initial international debut, Quantum Of Solace should surpass the early key box-office markers with some vigour.
Walt Disney Smpi's High School Musical 3: Senior Year was denied a second week at the top by Bond, despite a healthy three-day gross of $29.7m from 4,625 engagements in 34 territories, a 27% drop week-on-week. Disney is launching a singalong edition of the film this weekend in key US cities, a tactic that was successful for both Mamma Mia! The Movie and 2007's Hairspray.
Additional reporting by Jeremy Kay
| Analysis: International box-office Weekend October 31-november 2 | ||||||
| (Last | 3-day | |||||
| week) | Film (origin) | gross $ | Scrs | Cume $ | Terr | |
| 1 | New | Quantum of Solace (US-UK) | $40,035,611 | 2114 | $40,362,896 | 3 |
| 2 | (1) | High School Musical 3: Senior Year (US) | $29,725,206 | 4625 | $87,964,595 | 34 |
| 3 | New | Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (US) | $18,144,953 | 640 | $18,144,953 | 2 |
| 4 | New | Golmaal Returns (Ind) | $7,745,638 | 1011 | $9,724,500 | 17 |
| 5 | * | Red Cliff Part 1 (Chi) | $6,752,188 | 545 | $76,089,770 | 6 |
| 6 | (5) | Saw V (US) | $6,440,417 | 1703 | $16,524,178 | 26 |
| 7 | (3) | Burn After Reading (US-UK-Fr) | $5,746,041 | 1923 | $58,026,261 | 28 |
| 8 | (6) | Public Enemy Number One: Part 1 (Fr-Can-It) | $4,829,881 | 526 | $12,455,801 | 3 |
| 9 | (19) | Space Chimps (US) | $4,404,342 | 1126 | $27,979,293 | 12 |
| 10 | (7) | Vicky Cristina Barcelona (US-Sp) | $4,151,678 | 932 | $36,216,653 | 14 |
| 11 | (4) | Eagle Eye (US) | $3,864,237 | 2278 | $66,433,531 | 49 |
| 12 | (9) | Wall-E (US) | $3,793,792 | 2409 | $259,749,469 | 19 |
| 13 | (18) | Hellboy II: The Golden Army (US) | $3,780,315 | 1201 | $76,456,882 | 17 |
| 14 | New | Fashion (Ind) | $3,774,284 | 751 | $5,296,647 | 17 |
| 15 | (10) | Mamma Mia! (US-UK) | $3,531,333 | 2143 | $415,097,098 | 40 |
| 16 | * | Welcome To The Sticks (Fr) | $3,257,799 | 537 | $218,435,344 | 8 |
| 17 | (8) | Tropic Thunder (US) | $3,179,600 | 1177 | $71,079,878 | 38 |
| 18 | (2) | Max Payne (US) | $3,059,885 | 2272 | $23,370,314 | 45 |
| 19 | (13) | Suspect X (Jap) | $3,012,545 | 410 | $36,443,955 | 1 |
| 20 | (12) | Nights in Rodanthe (US) | $2,645,842 | 1293 | $21,705,837 | 26 |
| 21 | (14) | Journey To The Center Of The Earth (US) | $2,164,456 | 695 | $107,427,801 | 24 |
| 22 | (21) | Le Crime Est Notre Affaire (Fr) | $1,907,768 | 365 | $7,715,241 | 1 |
| 23 | (29) | Death Race (US) | $1,749,467 | 934 | $27,483,814 | 24 |
| 24 | (30) | Mirrors (US) | $1,748,717 | 825 | $35,396,572 | 17 |
| 25 | New | Where The Legend Lives (Jap) | $1,661,695 | 326 | $1,661,695 | 1 |
| 26 | (58) | Disaster Movie (US) | $1,635,490 | 587 | $18,465,427 | 13 |
| 27 | New | Mes Stars Et Moi (Fr) | $1,586,718 | 320 | $1,586,718 | 2 |
| 28 | New | Handsome Suits (Jap) | $1,474,802 | 233 | $1,474,802 | 1 |
| 29 | (28) | The Baader Meinhof Complex (Ger) | $1,450,058 | 805 | $23,803,857 | 7 |
| 30 | (16) | My Wife Got Married (S Kor) | $1,428,196 | 415 | $5,425,934 | 1 |
| 31 | New | Mustafa (Tur) | $1,357,825 | 217 | $2,489,663 | 1 |
| 32 | New | Pride And Glory (US) | $1,351,063 | 311 | $1,417,166 | 4 |
| 33 | (11) | Admiral (Rus) | $1,346,892 | 741 | $36,413,405 | 3 |
| 34 | (54) | Fly Me To The Moon (Bel) | $1,341,257 | 604 | $12,187,093 | 9 |
| 35 | (31) | Die Geschichte Vom Brandner Kaspar (Ger) | $1,332,047 | 193 | $4,961,974 | 2 |
| 36 | (23) | Babylon AD (Fr) | $1,317,375 | 745 | $47,138,478 | 17 |
| 37 | (48) | Loft (Bel) | $1,287,040 | 41 | $2,738,742 | 1 |
| 38 | (32) | Krabat (Ger) | $1,274,786 | 418 | $8,148,089 | 2 |
| 39 | (17) | Ghost Town (US) | $1,270,937 | 344 | $5,541,174 | 1 |
| 40 | (25) | Righteous Kill (US) | $1,209,913 | 551 | $31,261,936 | 18 |
| *Re-entry (c) Screen International, compiled by Leonard Klady | ||||||
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