Julia Roberts scored her biggest ever debut in Mexico at theweekend as Columbia TriStar Film Distributors International (CTFDI) opened MonaLisa Smile on an estimated $1m.

In its first international release the romantic comedy wentout on 230 prints and ranked third behind The Lord of The Rings: The ReturnOf The King and Brother Bear.

CTFDI will release the film in smaller Asian markets nextweek followed by Europe in the middle of January.