The Da Vinci Code fought off competition from newwide release X-Men: The Last Stand to stay dominant in the internationalmarketplace this weekend. The Sony thriller held up impressively with anestimated gross of $92.8m, while the Fox comic book sequel opened with a strong but not quite strong enough $76.1m.

In its second weekend, Da Vinci, from Sony PicturesReleasing International (SPRI), was down a modest 40% from its record-breakinginternational opening haul of $154.7m, producing its $92.8m from 12,038 screensin 82 territories. The weekend take pushed the film's international total todate to $320m.

Da Vinci held off Last Stand and retainednumber one spot in three major markets. In Germany, it fell just 13% to $11.6mfrom 1,165 screens, for a running total in the territory of $29.8m. In Italy,it dropped 43% to $6.4m from 910 screens, for a $23.4m total. And in Spain itfell by the same percentage to $6.3m from 752 screens, for a $20.7m total.

The film also took the top spot in two markets where itsblockbuster rival did not open: in Japan, it fell only 19% to $9.15m from 865screens (for a $32.8m total), and in Korea it was off 45% to $4m from 210screens (total - $15.4m).

Da Vinci dropped to number two in other majormarkets. In the UK it was down 49% to $8.9m from 107 screens (total - $34.7m).In France it was off a very healthy 30% to $8.4m from 969 screens (total -$23.3m). In Australia it dropped 52% to $3.2m from 560 (total - $11.9m). InMexico it fell 54% to $3m from 768 (total - $12.8m). And in Brazil it dived 61%to $2.8m from 534 (total $9.8m).

Da Vinci performed well in a number of smallermarkets, staying at number one in Holland (where it actually increased itsgross by 9%), Belgium (down only 2%), Switzerland (down 12%), Greece (down12%), Sweden (down 19%), Austria (down 31%), Denmark (down 49%) and Argentina(down 35%).

The film's only new market was India, where it opened with$655,000 from 120 screens and came in second to local hit Fanaa.

Fox International's X-Men: The Last Stand, which hada record-breaking $107m North American debut this weekend, opened day-and-datein most of the rest of the world and produced its estimated $76.1m from 8,543screens in 95 territories.

Fox said the international opening was 16% ahead (comparinglike territories) of that for the franchise's second entry, 2003's X2: X-MenUnited. X2 took $69.3m from 93 territories over its first weekendand went on to make $192m internationally. Fox says Last Stand is now oncourse to do more than $200m internationally.

The sequel topped local charts in at least five majorterritories: in the UK it grossed an estimated $12.8m from 447 screens; inFrance it took $10.6m from 756; in Mexico it earned $5.9m from 1,090 (Fox'ssecond biggest opening ever in the territory); in Australia it captured $5.1mfrom 408; and in Brazil it brought in $3.5m from 580 (another second-biggestopening for the studio).

Last Stand came second to Da Vinci in threeother major markets: in Germany the take was $5.6m from 885 screens; in Spainit was $4.6m from 453; and in Italy it was $2.3m from 509.

The sequel also did well in Russia, with $3.1m from 420screens, and was number one in more than twenty smaller markets. Last Standgave Fox its biggest ever openings in Puerto Rico, the Philippines andSingapore.

Paramount's Mission: Impossible III, distributed byUIP, showed some decent international legs in its fourth weekend, dropping 48%to gross an estimated $12.1m from 5,022 locations.

MI3's best markets included Korea, where the grosswas down 45% to $2.2m (for a total of $31.1m); the UK, where the gross was off55% to $1.6m (for a $26m total); Germany, where the take was down just 23% to$1.1m (total - $9.3m); France, where a 41% drop led to a gross of $881,000(total - $13.4m); and Spain, where a 58% fall meant a $386,000 gross (total$8.3m).

Among other holdovers this weekend, Buena VistaInternational's (BVI) animated The Wild opened in the UK and grossed anestimated $1.9m from 500 screens, good enough for third place in the territory.The film should benefit from the availability of family audiences on Monday, aholiday in the UK.

Overall, the BVI children's entry grossed $2.9m over theweekend, from 1,963 screens in 30 territories. With several major territoriesstill to open, the film's international total reached $35.5m, passing thedisappointing $35.2m domestic take.

Meanwhile BVI's Scary Movie 4, which also has somemajor markets still to go, grossed $600,000 from 1,508 screens in 28territories, bringing its international total to $64.1m.

Warner Bros International's Poseidon continued itsgradual Asian rollout, grossing an estimated $2.11m (439,000 admissions) from520 prints in seven territories.

The disaster movie opened in Taiwan with a gross (includingpreviews) of $1.67m (224,000 admissions) from 145 prints, which is expected torank the film number one in the market. The performance in Taipei was betterthan those by The Last Samurai and The Perfect Storm, and on apar with that of Pearl Harbor.

Warner's local acquisition Volver grossed anestimated $1.27m from 310 prints over its second weekend in Italy. Theperformance of Pedro Almodovar's latest work was better than the second-weekItalian showings of the director's Bad Education, All About My Motherand Talk To Her and brought the film's total for the territory to$3.47m.

Universal and Imagine's Curious George had its firstinternational openings this weekend and, through distributor UIP, grossed anestimated $1.4m from 742 dates in four territories.

In the UK, the animated version of the classic children'sstory lost out in head-to-head competition with The Wild and placedfifth in the local chart with an estimated $710,000 from 316 dates.

In Germany, George opened with a solid $500,000 from346 dates, coming in ninth.

Universal's UIP-distributed Inside Man grossed anestimated $650,000 from 650 dates in 20 territories, bringing the film'sinternational total to $87m.

The studio's Nanny McPhee continued to play in 10territories and raised its international total to $74.2m (including $67.6m fromUIP).

DreamWorks Animation's Over The Hedge, another familyoffering from UIP, grossed an estimated $570,000 from 137 locations in threeAsian territories.

In its second weekend in the international marketplace, theCG film took $309,000 from 26 locations in Singapore (for a $910,000 total inthe territory); $132,000 from 42 locations in Malaysia (for a $389,000 total);and $127,000 from 69 locations in the Philippines (for a $412,000 total).

Besides X-Men, Fox International had three otherinternational openings. The studio's Just My Luck started with $198,000from 100 screens in Korea. Separate Lies began with $146,000 from 36screens in Australia. And She's The Man kicked off with $133,000 from 34screens in Taiwan.

Fox's animated blockbuster Ice Age: The Meltdowngrossed more than $3m at the weekend, bringing its international total to$434.7m.