Terminator 3: Rise Of The Machines will again be the one to watch this weekend as openings in the key UK, Germany and Spain markets look set to push the sci-fi epic past $100m.

Directed by Jonathan Mostow, the third instalment in the hit series has grossed $92m at the international box office to date, $48m of which comes from Columbia TriStar Film Distributors International (CTFDI) markets.

CTFDI will open T3 on approximately 1,000 prints in the UK on Aug 1, where it is expected to perform strongly given that school holidays are in force and weather forecasts predict a warm, partly cloudy weekend across most parts of the UK.

By comparison Terminator 2: Judgment Day grossed $4.5m on 302 prints when it opened in the UK in Aug 1991.

The film has already got off to a roaring start on its first day in Spain, where it was released by CFTDI on 599 screens on July 30 and grossed $1.05m (Euros 912,000).

CTFDI released the film on approximately 1,070 prints in Germany on July 31. The film also opens in Finland and Sweden over the weekend.

T2 opened on $6.3m on 474 prints in Germany in Oct 1991 and took $2.9m on 150 in Spain when it opened two months later.

Elsewhere, Fox is putting its power behind the launch of local comedy Danny Deckchair in Australia. The feelgood fairy-tale starring Rhys Ifans and The Lord Of The Rings' Miranda Otto (see review on Screen Daily) goes out on 185 screens this weekend in Australia with high expectations.

Fox will be hoping its total is more in the region of Roadshow's November 2002 local release Crackerjack, which took US$1.3m (A$2m) from 204 screens, than last weekend's Bad Eggs (US$421,000 from 172)

Fresh from its $2.3m opening haul in Asia last weekend, Paramount's Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle Of Life opened in Hong Kong through UIP on July 31 on 45 prints.

Lara Croft: Tomb Raider opened to excellent business there in July 2001, grossing $954,699 on 32 screens in its first 4-day weekend. The original went on to gross $143m at the international box office.

Fox International will release MGM's Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde in the UK tomorrow on 380 prints and opened the comedy sequel in Sweden on July 30 on 28. The film also opens in Belgium and Norway over the weekend.

It currently has a running total of around $2.7m, largely fuelled by number one bows in Germany and Austria last weekend.

Legally Blonde took $1.8m (without previews) on 326 screens when it opened in the UK in Oct 2001.

The distributor also rolled out Agent Cody Banks on 200 prints in France yesterday.

Universal's The Hulk will be looking to build on its $81.5m running total when it opens in Japan through UIP on 480 prints on August 2, its only major market of the weekend.

Following a strong run in the Republic of Ireland for Veronica Guerin ($2.2m after three weeks), Buena Vista International (BVI) will open the true-life crime drama in the UK tomorrow.

BVI will also release Pirates Of The Caribbean, which has become a huge hit in the US, in Mexico on July 31 and Japan on August 1. The film's international running total is around $1.5m.

Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over also gets a UK bow tomorrow, in what will be the first international release in a major market after opening number one in the US last weekend.

BVI does not release print counts or comparative figures ahead of release but research by Screen reveals that Spy Kids 2: The Island Of Lost Dreams grossed $1.6m when it opened on 409 screens in Aug 2002.

The distributor also rolled out Finding Nemo in China on July 30. The animated hit's international running total is roughly $45m. Finally New Line opened 'reality movie' The Real Cancun in France on July 30 on 131 screens.