Germany's animated adventure Lissi Und Der Wilde Kaiser was the highest non-US entry into the international top 40 this weekend, taking $6.9m from 905 screens across three territories.

The comedy, released through Constantin Film, opened to number four in the chart and enjoyed a $7,609 screen average - the fourth highest on the list, generating more than $5m in Germany alone. The film, directed by Michael Herbig (who also lends his voice to the film's characters) is based on Germany's much-loved "Sissi" trilogy from the 1950s and is the tale of a 19th century Austrian girl who marries an emperor.

Japan had only one film enter the top 40 at the weekend but it proved a strong one. Crows: Episode 0 came in at number nine with a $3.5m take across 259 screens in its home territory. The action film, based on Hiroshi Takahashi's manga, boasted the strongest screen average over the weekend with a whopping $13,432 per screen. It is distributed by Toho and knocked Fuji TV's drama Hero out of the top spot after seven weeks.

Greece enjoyed an international hit for the second weekend in a row with El Greco. The biopic, distributed through Alexandros Film, had the second highest screen average at an impressive $12,808. It dropped marginally by 9% with a $1.3m take across 108 screens in its home territory. The film, based on life of the Greek painter Domenicos Theotokopoulos, is directed by Yannis Smaragdis and has a $3.5m tally to date.

The Korean crop

French films continued to make their mark this weekend, accounting for 5% of the international top-40 revenue. Pathe Distribution's Le Coeur Des Hommes 2 came in at number eight in its first weekend with a $3.6m take after opening in Belgium and France. The romantic comedy, written and directed by Marc Esposito, played across 535 screens for a $6,750 screen average.

New entrant Le Deuxieme Souffle, released through Wild Bunch, made the top 30 with a $1.7m take across 598 screens.

A slew of Korean films helped generate over $6.7m over the weekend. CJ Entertainment's bank robbery comedy Going By The Book fell by just 9% over the weekend to number 11. It took more than $3m in its second weekend in South Korea, playing across 343 screens and enjoying an $8,789 average.

Murder mystery Shadows In The Palace fell by 33%, generating more than $2m across 367 screens, and landed just outside of the top 20. The film, directed by Kim Mi-jung and starring Chun-ryung and Park Jin-hee, has a $7.3m tally to date.

New Korean entrant M made the top 30 this weekend, grossing $1.6m over the three-day period. The thriller, released through Gold View, has a total gross of nearly $2m, including previews.

Fighting spirit

Russian cinema continues to show its colours with three entries in the chart. Action drama Shadow Boxing 2, released through Central Partnership, dropped by 47% to number 12 after generating $2.8m across three territories. The sequel, which is the debut directorial feature for Anton Megerdichev (writer Aleksei Sidorov wrote and directed the first instalment), played on 646 screens and had a $4,104 screen average. It has generated $10.1m to date.

Caroprokat's release Election Day fell 25% to number 19 in its second weekend. The comedy, which attacks the "corrupt" process of electoral voting, generated $1.5m in Russia across 496 screens. It has made more than $5m to date. And Cinemotion's new entrant Nulevoy Kilometr opened to $1.4m from 425 screens.

Indian films accounted for 2.5% of the international top-40 revenue. New entrant Jab We Met came in at number 27 with a $1.7m tally across 575 screens. The teen romance took $321,411 in its first weekend in the UK across just 34 sites for an impressive $9,453 site average in the territory. It is released internationally through Indian Film Company.

Eros International's Bhool Bhulaiyaa stayed in the chart in its third weekend with a $1.5m take from 517 screens. It has made nearly $14m to date.

Elsewhere, Disney/Pixar animation Ratatouille still dominated the chart after an 18-week run, taking $22.6m over the weekend. Paramount Pictures International/UIP's Stardust was up 28% with a $10.9m take and Sony Pictures Releasing International's Surf's Up was up a whopping 228% after opening in France, Belgium, Greece and Brazil.

The top 40 international films generated $133.6bn from 38,794 screens from October 26-28.