King Arthur, which has been a star performer forBuena Vista International (BVI) this year, scored the distributor's thirdbiggest ever debut in China at the weekend.

The epicadventure opened on an estimated $870,000 on 335 screens, ranking behind PearlHarbor and Pirates OfThe Caribbean in theall-time opening pantheon.

Overall thepicture grossed $1.5m for a $143m international running total.

The PrincessDiaries 2 opened fourthin England (it had already previewed in Scotland) on $1.5m on 410, up 37% onthe 2001 original. The family sequel added $2.2m at the weekend for $14.8m.

Ladder 49 grossed $859,000 on 300 Spanish screens,an incomplete figure as BVI had not received full reports at time of writing.

The drama is inthe early stages of release and has grossed $2.3m to date.