The Last Samurai raised its international running total to anestimated $156.1m at the weekend following a superb $38.7m haul from 31territories.

The Warner Bros PicturesInternational drama opened number one in all five of its new European marketsand scored several strong results in Latin America and Asia.

In a mighty sequence oftable-topping bows, it opened on $4.8m in France, $2.7m in Australia, $1.9m inMexico and $910,000 in Brazil.

Strong second weekendholdovers included Italy, where The Last Samurai remained top on $4.9mfor a $13.6m running total, and Spain, where it also stayed top and added $3.8mfor $10.6m.

In its second weekend in the UK it remained second behind The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King,adding $3.8m for $11.2m, while Germany stayed top on $3.7m for $9.9m. All box office drops were in the 21%-19% range.

In its seventh week in Japanthe distributor claims The Last Samurai ranked first, adding $3.7m for astunning $83.7m cumulative score.