Fuji TV's Hero was the hot international opener this weekend, according to Screen's international chart. Generating $8.9m in its home territory from 475 screens, the Takuya Kimura-starrer catapulted to the number three spot.

While Universal Pictures International's (UPI) The Bourne Ultimatum may have crept back up to the number one slot, Hero - an adaptation of the hit Japanese TV series - saw a whopping $18,771 screen average, far surpassing Bourne's $4,727 screen average.

Producer Chihiro Kameyama hopes the film surpasses his own all-time live action box-office champion, Bayside Shakedown 2 ($153.2m).

"I am delighted that Hero has got off to such a great start... I am in the fortunate position of hopefully being able to break my own record. Hero has a great chance to be the one to achieve that status, so I'm really excited," announced Kameyama.

Hero is set for a wide pan-Asian release, opening on a record 250 screens in Korea on October 25 through Keowon Film, boosted by the casting of Korean star Lee Byung-hun as a detective.

One of the big showdowns in this week's charts was between Entertainment's Run, Fat Boy, Run and Venice hit Atonement, which both opened in the UK at the weekend. David Schwimmer's comedy won out, generating $4.1m (£2m) from 413 sites (including $330,204 of one-day previews) - and taking eighth spot in the international chart with a site average of $9,857 (£4,867).

Universal Pictures International's (UPI) Atonement, starring Keira Knightley and James McAvoy, opened at number two in the UK and number 13 internationally, taking $3.3m (£1.6m) from 411 sites for an $8,051 (£3,976) site average.

At the top of the chart, Bourne took $15.8m from 3,341 screens and was up 8% after expanding in eight territories. It opened at number one in Germany with a $4.7m take and in Mexico with a $1.4m take.

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International saw continued success with Ratatouille. The animated adventure stands at number two, generating $9.1m over the three-day period after a $2.9m opening in Australia.

Paramount Pictures International's (PPI) Shrek The Third fell by 55% to number four over the weekend, grossing nearly $8m over the three-day period, while New Line's Rush Hour 3 saw a 30% drop to number five with $5.1m.

UPI's I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry was up a whopping 194%, generating $4.7m after opening in Brazil and Italy, and Fox International's Die Hard 4.0 was up 284% after taking $3.7m from its first weekend in Spain.

South Korean drama My Father, distributed by Lotte Entertainment, entered the chart at number 16 with a $2.5m take in its home territory while Eros International's comedy Heyy Babyy still made the top 20 with a $1.7m take in its third weekend.

Japanese hits Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone and Life: Tears In Heaven grossed $1.6m and $1.1m respectively, both still in the top 30.

Bollywood film Dhamaal opened to $1m from 511 screens in 16 territories at the weekend, while German comedy Kein Bund Furs Leben fell by 40% in its second weekend to number 31.

Russian opener Antidope and new Thai entry The House failed to hit the $1m mark but still made the top 40.

The top 40 international films generated $114.5m over the period from September 7-9.

Additional reporting by Liz Shackleton.