UPDATE: Warner Bros Pictures International top brass reported on Friday [28] that The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey had reached $373m heading into its third weekend.

New Line/MGM/Warner Bros’ Middle Earth fantasy remains the one to beat. On Dec 27 Warner Bros announced the film had crossed $500m worldwide and by Friday it stood at $562.8m, including the $189.8m North American tally.

Latest figures put The Hobbit at $47.3m in Germany, $46.8m in the UK, $26.1m in France, $23.1m in Russia, $19m in Spain, $18.3m in South Korea, $15.3m in Italy, $13.3m in Mexico, $11.6m in Brazil, $9.6m in Japan and $5.5m in director Peter Jackson’s native New Zealand.

Meanwhile Working Title’s Les Misérables has stormed the barricades outside North America. The stage musical adaptation grossed a further $3.8m on Thursday following Wednesday’s $5m haul to raise the early tally through Universal Pictures International to $32.2m. The worldwide haul has reached $71.6m.

Les Misérables is active in Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore and Spain. It added $1.3m in Australia on Thursday following Wednesday’s $1.9m launch that set a record opening day for a musical, some 45% ahead of Mamma Mia! Les Misérables set a new opening day record for a Russell Crowe film and a Working Title production. By Friday the running total stood at $4.5m including previews.

The film has produced $15m in South Korea after nine days, $9.5m in Japan after seven and more than $1.5m in Spain after three. It opened in Hungary on Thursday and rolls out in remaining territories in 2013, with the UK scheduled for Jan 11.

By last Sunday Fox 2000’s Life Of Pi stood at approximately $161m through Fox International. The adventure opens in eight markets this weekend including Germany, Austria, Denmark and Norway and rolls out in a further nine from Jan 1-4, including Australia, Russia and South Korea. Japan is scheduled to be the final market on Jan 25.

The comedy Parental Guidance arrives in the UK, Australia, and Mexico, while the Jackie Chan thriller CZ12 opens in Taiwan.

Neither Sony Pictures Releasing International (SPRI) nor MGM top brass had issued an updated running total for Skyfall by Dec 27. Given that the James Bond smash stood at $694m by last Sunday it is likely the film has crossed $700m and if it has not already done so, it will within a day or two.

SPRI opens Die Vampirschwestern (Vampire Sisters) in Germany and Austria and comedy Here Comes The Boom in Mexico and Malaysia.

Paramount Pictures International’s Jack Reacher took $2.5m from a handful of initial launches during the last session and the Tom Cruise thriller lands in more than 20 markets this weekend including France. Cirque Du Soleil opens in Russia.

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