Inception was finally forced to cede authority to another film as Paramount/PPI’s The Last Airbender ruled the waves over the weekend thanks to an estimated $18m haul from 5,843 sites in 51 territories that boosted the running total to $120m.

The largest contribution came from the $4m number one debut in Mexico from 812. Initial estimates in China report a $2.6m launch from 1,500 locations.

The film also opened to an outstanding $650,000 in Peru from 47 venues. Elsewhere, there were strong holds in Germany ($2.5m from 597 for $9m), South Korea ($2.1m from 313 for $9.6m), and Brazil ($1.5m from 260 for $5m.

Shrek Forever After added $10.5m from 4,585 in 61 for a magnificent $470m. The film opened top in Italy on $6.7m from 610, including $2.5m in previews.

PPI launched DreamWorks’ comedy remake Dinner For Schmucks overseas and reported a $250,000 haul in the Netherlands from 49 venues. How to Train Your Dragon took $406,000 in its third weekend in Japan from 297 locations for $9.1m. The international cumulative total stands at $274m.

  • Avatar crossed $2bn overseas after Fox International released an extended version of James Cameron’s sci-fi action adventure. Avatar: Special Edition added an estimated $4.5m from 1,232 screens in 14 markets to bring the revitalized international running total to $2.002bn.

The new iteration features an extra nine minutes of previously unseen footage and further consolidated Avatar’s status as the highest grossing film in history. The film took $1.2m in second place in Russia from 313 screens for $117.4m.

South Korea generated $954,724 from 149 for $109.4m, the UK $899,922 from 343, India $308,190 from 88 for $28.2m. Each release was generally limited to one or two shows per market. Avatar: Special Edition will roll out in a further seven markets next weekend including France, Germany and Holland.

  • Salt grossed $15.9m through Sony Pictures Releasing International (SPRI) from 4,450 screens in 63 markets for a highly promising $131.2m running total. The Angelina Jolie spy thriller opened top in France on $4.7m from 545 and stayed top in its second weekend in Australia after adding $2.3m from 365 for $7.2m.

The film added $1.5m in the UK from 468 for $6.9m after two and $1.4m in Spain from 430 for $5.3m after two. Japanese audiences are clearly enjoying Jolie in this role and have rewarded the film with $21.5m after five weekends, making it far and away the biggest market so far.

The Karate Kid added $13.9m from 3,723 in 38 for $143.7m and inspired two number one debuts in major markets – $4.7m in Spain from 494 and $2.3m in Brazil from 378. France delivered $2.5m from 529 for $7.1m after two. Japan again is the biggest market to date on $11.8m after five weekends.

Rounding out a fine weekend for SPRI was Grown Ups, which grossed $7.6m from 2,380 in 49 for $69.7m. The comedy opened top in the UK on $3.2m from 422 and has amassed $15.9m in Germany after six weekends.

  • Inception stayed on course to cross $400m through Warner Bros Pictures International as $17m from 5,870 screens in 63 markets elevated the running total to $387m.

The sci-fi thriller debuted well in first place in Greece on $1.5m from 150 including previews and elsewhere secured a series of impressive holds. It added $1.6m in France for $34.5m after six weekends, $1.3m in Germany for $29.2m after five, $1.2m in Spain for $16.6m after four, and $1m in the UK for $50.8m after seven weekends.

In its sixth weekends the film managed $1m in Australia for $28.5m, $900,000 in Japan for $37.1m, and $800,000 in South Korea for $30.6m. Russia has generated $21m and Mexico $8.5m, while Brazil stands at $7.5m after four. Inception is scheduled to launch in China on September 2 followed by Italy on September 24.

Cats And Dogs 2 delivered $4.7m from 4,045 screens in 49 markets for $44.1m. Upcoming releases include Brazil on September 3, Australia and South Korea on September 16 and Italy on September 17.

  • The phenomenal Toy Story 3 crossed $600m internationally, two days after becoming the first animated film in history to reach the $1bn global milestone [August 27], as an estimated $12.7m from 5,261 screens in 41 territories pushed the latest tally to $606.4m.

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International said the release was its fourth to cross $600m overseas and only the 14th in industry history to do so. It currently ranks as the 14th biggest international release and the sixth biggest global performer on $1.012bn.

The weekend result was powered by strong holds in Japan, the UK and France, as well as a quartet of Scandinavian launches that generated $3.7m from 445 screens. This was a new record for a Disney animated release in the region and individually the film topped the charts in Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland.

Toy Story 3 remained the top US release in Japan after $3m (¥255m) from 482 raised the tally to $115m (¥10bn) to close the gap on Finding Nemo(¥11bn) as the second biggest Western animation in the territory.

It added $2.3m (£1.5m) in the UK from 820 for $104.7m (£67.5m) and should have enough momentum to overtake Mamma Mia (£69.1m) and Titanic (£69m) to become the second biggest release in the territory behind Avatar. Toy Story 3 added $1.2m in France from 628 for $34.6m.

The Sorcerer’s Apprentice became Disney’s 70th title to cross $100m as $5.5m from 3,667 screens in 40 territories brought the latest total to $103.4m. It added $1.5m in France from 546 for $10.1m.

The final push begins next weekend when German-speaking Europe and Spain receive the film, followed a week later by Australia and China.

  • Step Up 3D grossed $11.1m from 2,494 venues from 30 Universal and Summit International territories to boost the running total to $70.8m after four weekends in release. The film debuted in Germany on $3.7m from 371 and was vying for number one at time of writing.

It added $3.4m from 853 sites in Universal’s five territories to raise the Universal tally to $27.7m. France held strong at number six on $1.8m from 293 for $5.3m after 12 days. The film has grossed $11.7m in the UK after four weekends and is the highest in the series in Australia on $8.4m after the same amount of time. ‪‬

  • Universal/UPI’s Scott Pilgrim Vs The World took in a further $3.3m from 966 venues in the UK, Australia, New Zealand and Russia to more than double the early international tally to $6.2m. The comic book adaptation opened in the UK in fourth place on $2.5m from 406 and added $430,000 in Australia from 171 for $2.4m after three weekends.

Despicable Me added $2.8m from 1,330 venues in 26 territories for $70m. The top holdover was Brazil on $750,000 from 246 for $10.3m after four weekends, while Mexico has generated $18.1m.

The Expendables, which Universal is distributing in Spain, had a good third weekend, holding at number seven with an estimated $400,000 from 260 sites for $4.8m.

Get Him To The Greek opened in Spain in eighth place on $305,000 from 250. The overall running total stands at $23m and there are 15 territories to go over the next several months including France on September 1, Germany on September 2, and Austria on September 3.

‪Charlie St Cloud added $280,000 from 255 sites in Russia, Croatia and Trinidad. Still in its infancy, the film will launch around the world over the next five months.

  • Fox International’s Predators added $3.1m from 1,453 in 28 territories for $68.7m and launched in Spain in third place on $1.2m from 302. The A-Team brought in a further $2.3m from 1,406 in 14 for $95.5m. Knight And Day stands at $151.3m, Marmaduke $41.3m, Vampires Suck an early $3.1m, and Diary Of A Wimpy Kid $1.9m. It opened in the UK on $1m from 375.

Topics