The Mummy: Tomb Of The Dragon Emperor kept The Dark Knight at bay for a second consecutive weekend and earned its stripes with another eye-popping result thanks to an estimated $56.1m from 6,453 sites in 49 Universal/UPI territories.
The adventure sequel stands at $141.1m after two weekends and led the field by some way as it opened number one in 16 of its 22 new territories. Weekend earnings were led by a $9.2m UK debut from 479 sites, $6.6m from 650 in Germany, $5m from 572 in France and the biggest launch of the year-to-date in Taiwan on $3.6m from 61 that also delivered Universal's biggest debut in history.
Tomb Of The Dragon Emperor slew the competition in Australia with $990,000 from 91 and snapped up 38% market share in the process. It scored the biggest opening day of all time in the UAE and set a new opening weekend record in Peru. Results for these two last territories were unavailable at time of writing.
Turning to holdover business, Brendan Fraser and Jet Li added $3.5m from 509 in South Korea for a muscular $20.6m after 11 days and the on-screen foes stayed top in Brazil thanks to a $2m haul from 293 sites that boosted the tally to $6.1m after 10 days. Tomb Of The Dragon Emperor also stayed top in Mexico in the second weekend after $2.3m from 435 raised the tally to $10.4m. There are 15 territories to go including Japan next weekend.
Mamma Mia! is singing its way towards $200m as the fun in the sun added $14.7m from 2,400 venues in 24 territories for $173.4m. Crossing $200m will be a piece of cake for the musical adaptation considering there are still 32 territories to go. The worldwide total stands at $277.4m.
Czech/Slovakia was the new market of the session and results are expected on Monday. The UK led holdover business as Mamma Mia! ranked third in the fifth weekend on $5.6m from 515 after an 11% drop for $77.8m (£39m).
Mamma Mia! is within striking distance of becoming the UK's top grossing film of the year-to-date in local currency. That honour currently rests with Indiana Jones 4's £39.8m, but Mamma Mia! should overtake it next weekend. Mamma Mia! ranks as Universal's third biggest release ever in the UK in local currency behind Jurassic Park on £47m and Bridget Jones's Diary on £41m.
Meryl Streep and friends held on to second place in the fourth weekend in Germany as $2.6m from 590 raised the total to $20.7m, while they stayed in second place in Australia after $1.5m from 264 boosted the tally to $22.6m after five weekends. UPI chiefs reported a 9% climb in Austria and 'great previews' in Spain ahead of the official August 13 launch.
Wanted added $3m from 1,372 sites in 39 territories for $120.6m. With no new openings to report, the spotlight remained on Australia where the action romp held firm in third place in its second weekend on $1.3m from 195 for $5m. Wanted ranks tenth in France after $600,000 from 400 raised the tally to $9.1m after four. It ranks fifth after six in Italy on $5.9m. There are 23 territories to go including Mexico on August 15.
Speaking of Mexico, Guillermo Del Toro's Hellboy II: The Golden Army stands at $24.8m in its early days. The fantasy action sequel ranks fourth in Italy on $4.2m after four weekends and opens in Hong Kong on August 14.
The Dark Knight - still the top film in North America after four weekends - scored four number one launches this weekend and generated $35.1m through Warner Bros Pictures International from approximately 7,000 screens in 56 markets. That puts the Batman Begins sequel on $263.1m and secures its status as the fourth biggest international release of the year-to-date behind Indiana Jones 4, Kung Fu Panda and Hancock.
The crime epic ran riot in South Korea as $6.9m from 461 screens over five days exceeded the lifetime total of Batman Begins and drew 1.1million admissions. The Dark Knight opened in second place in Japan to Hayao Miyazaki's Ponyo On The Cliff By The Sea - no shame there - with $3m from 460 nationwide screens including previews. Results exceeded the Batman Begins launch by 11%.
WBPI top brass claim The Dark Knight is now the highest grossing superhero film of all time in the UK, where it added $8.2m after a 38% drop in the third weekend for $69.3m. It ranked number in Australia for the fourth consecutive weekend as $2.6m following a 38% drop raised the tally to $35.6m in the late Heath Ledger's native country.
It's the top grossing film in Mexico so far this year after $1.2m following a 41% fall elevated the running total to $22.8m after four weekends, while Brazil stands at $17m after four following a 33% drop on $1.5m. The film swoops into Spain and France on August 13 followed a day later by Russia, which has been generating extraordinary results this year and promises something special.
The comedy Get Smart added $2.2m from 1,471 screens for $73.6m. The headline news here was a $557,000 number one launch in Hong Kong on 40 screens.
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International's (WDSMPI) Wall-E was fuelled this weekend by two number one debuts from a trio of new territories and robust holdover business as it added $18.1m from 3,177 screens in 28 territories to raise the running total to $121.6m.
Spain led the new releases on $4.7m from 498 for the third biggest Pixar launch behind Cars and Ratatouille, while South Korea generated $2.8m from 300 and delivered a record launch for an animated Disney film. Venezuela produced a record Disney launch on $932,000 from 100.
Elsewhere the lovesick robot added a further $3.2m in his second weekend in France for $12.2m; $2.9m from 489 in the fourth weekend in the UK after a 26% drop for $34m; $775,000 from 120 theatres in the second weekend in Belgium after a 1% drop for $2.4m; and $751,000 from 180 screens in the second weekend in Holland following a 15% climb despite adding no theatres for $2.2m. The film is set to arrive in Portugal, Thailand, Malaysia and several smaller Asian markets next
weekend.
The Dark Knight may have leapfrogged The Chronicles Of Narnia: Prince Caspian into fourth place in the international pantheon this year-to-date, however WDSMPI's fantasy sequel continues to perform heroically and added $3.6m from 2,925 screens in 31 territories to raise its tally to $253.7m.
DreamWorks Animation's Kung Fu Panda grossed a further $8m from 5,560 sites in 60 territories through PPI to bring the international cumulative total to $347.5m.
The largest contribution came from France, where the film added $1.3m from 767 after a 40% decline for $22.8m. The high-kicking panda added $1m in Japan following a 30% drop heading into the Obon holidays and stands at $9.3m. Box office in the UK swelled by $850,000 to $36m.
Gurinder Chadha's teen comedy Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging entered its third weekend in the UK and took $1m from 377 venues for an $8.5m running total.
The Bank Job made off with $806,000 from 232 locations in Australia and New Zealand after launching in New Zealand on $100,000 from 41 sites and adding $706,000 from 191 in Australia following a 21% drop for $2m after two weekends.
Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull - the runaway leader of 2008 so far - raised its tally by an estimated $1m from 736 sites in 62 territories to $461.5m and continues to hold well in Japan where receipts have exceeded $50m.
Hancock generated a further $6.5m through Sony Pictures Releasing International (SPRI) from 4,050 screens in 70 markets to stand at $332.1m. The superhero tale added $1.3m from 562 screens in France to rank third or fourth on $25.9m after five; $1m from 494 in Spain for fourth place on $23.9m after four; $1m from 591 in Germany for fourth on $37.4m after six; and $375,000 from 209 in the UK in 11th place on $48.7m after six.
Elsewhere the film added $240,000 from 64 for $3.6m in Belgium after five; $230,000 from 81 for $4.7m in Holland after five; $225,000 from 249 in Russia for fourth place on $25.9m after five; and $220,000 from 210 in Brazil for seventh place on $13.4m after six weekends.
Hancock has amassed $19.3m in Australia where it ranks seventh after six; $14.3m after six in China where it ranks second; $3.4m after four in Denmark; $14.1m after five in Mexico in 11th place; $2.6m after four in Sweden in fifth; $2.3m in Norway after four in fifth place; and $4.8m in Austria after six in fifth place.
The stoner comedy Pineapple Express complemented its second place North American launch with a $1.1m debut in Australia from 195 screens that ranked fourth.
The Adam Sandler comedy You Don't Mess With The Zohan added $1m from 305 in 18 for $29.2m, propelled by a $390,000 launch from 100 screens in third place in the Philippines and a $320,000 debut in Holland from 40. Zohan added $95,000 from 60 screens in South Africa to rank third and has amassed $315,000 after two weekends. The comedy launches in the UK, Germany, Brazil, Austria and Turkey next weekend.
Horror title Prom Night launched in seventh place in Mexico on $275,000 from 201 and opened in fifth place in Venezuela on $125,000 from 30. Overall it grossed $570,000 from 344 screens in seven markets for $10.8m through SPRI territories.
Fox Internationals' sci-fi mystery The X-Files: I Want To Believe added a further $5.7m from approximately 4,000 screens in 48 markets for $31.4m, buoyed by solid launches in Mexico and Puerto Rico that delivered $1.2m from 432 in second place and $161,902 from 48 in third place, respectively.
Mulder and Scully added $658,274 from 396 in their second weekend in the UK for $3.6m. Latest figures put the duo on $2.9m in France after two and $4.8m in Russia, just over $3m in Germany, $2.9m in Spain, $1.9m in Australia and $1.4m in Brazil, all after three.
The Eddie Murphy comedy Meet Dave added $1.8m from approximately 1,150
screens in 28 for $18.7m, fired up by a highly respectable $119,624 launch in Argentina on 28 screens and a $476,426 debut in Brazil on 119 that ranked third in the market.
The kidnapping thriller Taken starring Liam Neeson, Maggie Grace and Famke Janssen rolled out in its first market this weekend, taking $1.2m from 320 in Spain to rank third. The film opens in Australia and Italy next weekend and is set to launch in North America in September.
The Happening has amassed $94.8m through all distributors while the horror title Shutter stands at $19.3m.
The adventure sequel stands at $141.1m after two weekends and led the field by some way as it opened number one in 16 of its 22 new territories. Weekend earnings were led by a $9.2m UK debut from 479 sites, $6.6m from 650 in Germany, $5m from 572 in France and the biggest launch of the year-to-date in Taiwan on $3.6m from 61 that also delivered Universal's biggest debut in history.
Tomb Of The Dragon Emperor slew the competition in Australia with $990,000 from 91 and snapped up 38% market share in the process. It scored the biggest opening day of all time in the UAE and set a new opening weekend record in Peru. Results for these two last territories were unavailable at time of writing.
Turning to holdover business, Brendan Fraser and Jet Li added $3.5m from 509 in South Korea for a muscular $20.6m after 11 days and the on-screen foes stayed top in Brazil thanks to a $2m haul from 293 sites that boosted the tally to $6.1m after 10 days. Tomb Of The Dragon Emperor also stayed top in Mexico in the second weekend after $2.3m from 435 raised the tally to $10.4m. There are 15 territories to go including Japan next weekend.
Mamma Mia! is singing its way towards $200m as the fun in the sun added $14.7m from 2,400 venues in 24 territories for $173.4m. Crossing $200m will be a piece of cake for the musical adaptation considering there are still 32 territories to go. The worldwide total stands at $277.4m.
Czech/Slovakia was the new market of the session and results are expected on Monday. The UK led holdover business as Mamma Mia! ranked third in the fifth weekend on $5.6m from 515 after an 11% drop for $77.8m (£39m).
Mamma Mia! is within striking distance of becoming the UK's top grossing film of the year-to-date in local currency. That honour currently rests with Indiana Jones 4's £39.8m, but Mamma Mia! should overtake it next weekend. Mamma Mia! ranks as Universal's third biggest release ever in the UK in local currency behind Jurassic Park on £47m and Bridget Jones's Diary on £41m.
Meryl Streep and friends held on to second place in the fourth weekend in Germany as $2.6m from 590 raised the total to $20.7m, while they stayed in second place in Australia after $1.5m from 264 boosted the tally to $22.6m after five weekends. UPI chiefs reported a 9% climb in Austria and 'great previews' in Spain ahead of the official August 13 launch.
Wanted added $3m from 1,372 sites in 39 territories for $120.6m. With no new openings to report, the spotlight remained on Australia where the action romp held firm in third place in its second weekend on $1.3m from 195 for $5m. Wanted ranks tenth in France after $600,000 from 400 raised the tally to $9.1m after four. It ranks fifth after six in Italy on $5.9m. There are 23 territories to go including Mexico on August 15.
Speaking of Mexico, Guillermo Del Toro's Hellboy II: The Golden Army stands at $24.8m in its early days. The fantasy action sequel ranks fourth in Italy on $4.2m after four weekends and opens in Hong Kong on August 14.
The Dark Knight - still the top film in North America after four weekends - scored four number one launches this weekend and generated $35.1m through Warner Bros Pictures International from approximately 7,000 screens in 56 markets. That puts the Batman Begins sequel on $263.1m and secures its status as the fourth biggest international release of the year-to-date behind Indiana Jones 4, Kung Fu Panda and Hancock.
The crime epic ran riot in South Korea as $6.9m from 461 screens over five days exceeded the lifetime total of Batman Begins and drew 1.1million admissions. The Dark Knight opened in second place in Japan to Hayao Miyazaki's Ponyo On The Cliff By The Sea - no shame there - with $3m from 460 nationwide screens including previews. Results exceeded the Batman Begins launch by 11%.
WBPI top brass claim The Dark Knight is now the highest grossing superhero film of all time in the UK, where it added $8.2m after a 38% drop in the third weekend for $69.3m. It ranked number in Australia for the fourth consecutive weekend as $2.6m following a 38% drop raised the tally to $35.6m in the late Heath Ledger's native country.
It's the top grossing film in Mexico so far this year after $1.2m following a 41% fall elevated the running total to $22.8m after four weekends, while Brazil stands at $17m after four following a 33% drop on $1.5m. The film swoops into Spain and France on August 13 followed a day later by Russia, which has been generating extraordinary results this year and promises something special.
The comedy Get Smart added $2.2m from 1,471 screens for $73.6m. The headline news here was a $557,000 number one launch in Hong Kong on 40 screens.
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International's (WDSMPI) Wall-E was fuelled this weekend by two number one debuts from a trio of new territories and robust holdover business as it added $18.1m from 3,177 screens in 28 territories to raise the running total to $121.6m.
Spain led the new releases on $4.7m from 498 for the third biggest Pixar launch behind Cars and Ratatouille, while South Korea generated $2.8m from 300 and delivered a record launch for an animated Disney film. Venezuela produced a record Disney launch on $932,000 from 100.
Elsewhere the lovesick robot added a further $3.2m in his second weekend in France for $12.2m; $2.9m from 489 in the fourth weekend in the UK after a 26% drop for $34m; $775,000 from 120 theatres in the second weekend in Belgium after a 1% drop for $2.4m; and $751,000 from 180 screens in the second weekend in Holland following a 15% climb despite adding no theatres for $2.2m. The film is set to arrive in Portugal, Thailand, Malaysia and several smaller Asian markets next
weekend.
The Dark Knight may have leapfrogged The Chronicles Of Narnia: Prince Caspian into fourth place in the international pantheon this year-to-date, however WDSMPI's fantasy sequel continues to perform heroically and added $3.6m from 2,925 screens in 31 territories to raise its tally to $253.7m.
DreamWorks Animation's Kung Fu Panda grossed a further $8m from 5,560 sites in 60 territories through PPI to bring the international cumulative total to $347.5m.
The largest contribution came from France, where the film added $1.3m from 767 after a 40% decline for $22.8m. The high-kicking panda added $1m in Japan following a 30% drop heading into the Obon holidays and stands at $9.3m. Box office in the UK swelled by $850,000 to $36m.
Gurinder Chadha's teen comedy Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging entered its third weekend in the UK and took $1m from 377 venues for an $8.5m running total.
The Bank Job made off with $806,000 from 232 locations in Australia and New Zealand after launching in New Zealand on $100,000 from 41 sites and adding $706,000 from 191 in Australia following a 21% drop for $2m after two weekends.
Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull - the runaway leader of 2008 so far - raised its tally by an estimated $1m from 736 sites in 62 territories to $461.5m and continues to hold well in Japan where receipts have exceeded $50m.
Hancock generated a further $6.5m through Sony Pictures Releasing International (SPRI) from 4,050 screens in 70 markets to stand at $332.1m. The superhero tale added $1.3m from 562 screens in France to rank third or fourth on $25.9m after five; $1m from 494 in Spain for fourth place on $23.9m after four; $1m from 591 in Germany for fourth on $37.4m after six; and $375,000 from 209 in the UK in 11th place on $48.7m after six.
Elsewhere the film added $240,000 from 64 for $3.6m in Belgium after five; $230,000 from 81 for $4.7m in Holland after five; $225,000 from 249 in Russia for fourth place on $25.9m after five; and $220,000 from 210 in Brazil for seventh place on $13.4m after six weekends.
Hancock has amassed $19.3m in Australia where it ranks seventh after six; $14.3m after six in China where it ranks second; $3.4m after four in Denmark; $14.1m after five in Mexico in 11th place; $2.6m after four in Sweden in fifth; $2.3m in Norway after four in fifth place; and $4.8m in Austria after six in fifth place.
The stoner comedy Pineapple Express complemented its second place North American launch with a $1.1m debut in Australia from 195 screens that ranked fourth.
The Adam Sandler comedy You Don't Mess With The Zohan added $1m from 305 in 18 for $29.2m, propelled by a $390,000 launch from 100 screens in third place in the Philippines and a $320,000 debut in Holland from 40. Zohan added $95,000 from 60 screens in South Africa to rank third and has amassed $315,000 after two weekends. The comedy launches in the UK, Germany, Brazil, Austria and Turkey next weekend.
Horror title Prom Night launched in seventh place in Mexico on $275,000 from 201 and opened in fifth place in Venezuela on $125,000 from 30. Overall it grossed $570,000 from 344 screens in seven markets for $10.8m through SPRI territories.
Fox Internationals' sci-fi mystery The X-Files: I Want To Believe added a further $5.7m from approximately 4,000 screens in 48 markets for $31.4m, buoyed by solid launches in Mexico and Puerto Rico that delivered $1.2m from 432 in second place and $161,902 from 48 in third place, respectively.
Mulder and Scully added $658,274 from 396 in their second weekend in the UK for $3.6m. Latest figures put the duo on $2.9m in France after two and $4.8m in Russia, just over $3m in Germany, $2.9m in Spain, $1.9m in Australia and $1.4m in Brazil, all after three.
The Eddie Murphy comedy Meet Dave added $1.8m from approximately 1,150
screens in 28 for $18.7m, fired up by a highly respectable $119,624 launch in Argentina on 28 screens and a $476,426 debut in Brazil on 119 that ranked third in the market.
The kidnapping thriller Taken starring Liam Neeson, Maggie Grace and Famke Janssen rolled out in its first market this weekend, taking $1.2m from 320 in Spain to rank third. The film opens in Australia and Italy next weekend and is set to launch in North America in September.
The Happening has amassed $94.8m through all distributors while the horror title Shutter stands at $19.3m.
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