International - Japanese romcom flies

Japanese romantic comedy Boys Over Flowers: Final was the highest non-US entry in this weekend's chart, generating $9.5m in its home territory.

Toho released the film, based on characters from the original shojo manga (girl's comic), on 400 screens in Japan, and it earned a very strong $23,686 screen average - the highest of the weekend. The film, voiced by Jun Matsumoto and Shun Oguri, boasted more than 800,000 admissions, putting it at the top of the Japanese chart.

Toho's second offering, The Magic Hour, came in at number 16 this weekend with a $2.4m take. Written and directed by Koki Mitani, the film fell 21% in its fourth weekend in Japan where it played on 379 screens for a $6,443 screen average. It has grossed $24.7m to date.

A kind of Magic

Five Indian films earned more than $7.5m, accounting for 4% of the top 40 revenue. New entry Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic led the pack with a $3.5m take from 16 territories. The romance, written and directed by Kunal Kohli, played across 711 screens for a $4,880 screen average. It opened in the UK with $259,769 from just 49 screens, putting it at number 10 in the UK chart. The film is distributed by Yash Raj Films.

Holdover title Dasavathaaram, released by Ayngaran International, dropped 41% in its third weekend with a $2m take from 841 screens. The Tamil sci-fi drama has generated $14.7m to date.

Three additional titles from the sub-continent also made the chart but failed to cross the $1m mark, including Sarkar Raj, released by Eros International. The drama fell 44% in its fourth weekend with an $892,171 take on 754 screens, bringing its international tally to nearly $16m.

Meanwhile De Taali, produced by Rising Star Entertainment, fell 59% in its second weekend with a $682,082 take, and Sheramoo Films production Mere Baap Pehle Aap dropped 57% in its third weekend with a $507,933 take.

French comedy Seuls Two opened within the top 15, generating $2.9m from 556 screens for a modest $5,262 screen average. The film marks the directorial debut for Ramzy Bedia and Eric Judor, who co-wrote and star in the film. It is distributed by TF1 International.

Two French holdovers, Sagan and La Personne Aux Deux Personnes, are slipping out of the top 40. Sagan, released through Europa, fell 33% in its third weekend with a $502,595 take, while StudioCanal's La Personne suffered a steeper drop at 47%, taking $433,147 in its second weekend.

Italian comedy Un'Estate Al Mare opened at number one in its home territory this weekend with a $2.3m take, putting it at number 17 internationally. The film, directed by Carlo Vanzina (Ole), who also wrote the script with his brother Enrico, played on 576 screens for a $3,973 screen average. The film, released by Medusa Film, ousted The Incredible Hulk from the top slot in Italy, taking 130% more in the territory than the angry green giant this weekend.

Crossing, from South Korea, enjoyed a $1.4m take from 352 screens. The drama, directed by Kim Tae-gyun, was at number four in its home territory and had a $4,059 screen average. It is released locally by Big House Vantage Holdings and boasts a near $2m tally to date, including previews from last week.

Chinese title Kung Fu Hip-Hop also opened this weekend, taking $1.2m in the territory. The film, which stars Hong Kong pop singer Jordan Chan, played on 222 screens for a $5,263 screen average. Emperor Motion Picture has the international rights for the film.

And Israeli animation Waltz With Bashir opened in its home territory with an $896,823 weekend take. The Cannes Competition title played on 192 screens for a $4,671 screen average.

Elsewhere, Universal's action-packed Wanted kicked all competition out of the water, opening at number one with a $32.3m take from 2,132 screens in 22 territories (a $15,128 screen average). Meanwhile Disney/Pixar animation Wall-E began its international rollout with a $3.2m take from 639 screens in six territories.

The top 40 international films generated $188.8m from 49,945 screens for the period June 27-29.