UPDATE: The Liam Neeson thriller sequel ran away with the weekend box office, earning an estimated $39.2m though Fox International and the remainder through producer-financier EuropaCorp.

The early tally includes $13.8m from two weekends in South Korea and stands at $66.8m. In further good news for Fox, Ice Age 4 crossed $700m.

The worldwide tally for Taken 2 including the number one North American launch stands at $117m. The Istanbul-set thriller took France by storm on approximately $8.4m through EuropaCorp, while Russia generated $1.9m, Scandinavia $1.5m, Belgium $546,000 and Switzerland $90,000.

Fox International territories brought in $39.2m, led by an $11.9m number one launch in the UK from 807 screens including previews and $8.1m from 365 in Australia for Fox’s biggest debut of the year and number five in the industry pantheon for 2012.

Taken 2 opened in Mexico in second place on $2.6m from 761 and opened top in Taiwan on $1.7m from 122 for the distributor’s biggest launch of 2011 and 2012. Among the other highlights were number one debuts in the Philippines on $1.6m from 180, Singapore on $1.3m from 47, Brazil in fourth place on $1m from 188 and Argentina in second place on $1m from 95. China generated an indifferent $1.1m from 2,000.

The film arrives through Fox in Italy and seven other markets this week and opens in Germany through EuropaCorp.

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter added $1.9m from 855 in nine for $69.8m, Ice Age 4 stands at $702.5m and Prometheus has reached $276.7m.

  • UPDATE: Madagascar 3 coasted up to an even $450m through Paramount Pictures International as a mighty $15.4m six-day German debut from 740 sites put the DreamWorks Animation release back among the top weekend earners.

The film opened top in Austria on $1.3m from 81 and grossed $22.2m overall in its 18th weekend from 2,788 sites in 30 countries. After four weekends Madagascar 3 stands at $22.4m in Australia and all eyes will now be on the UK when it opens there on Oct 19.

  • Sony Pictures Releasing International (SPRI) reported that Hotel Transylvania added $13.1m from 2,985 screens in 22 markets to boost the early running total to $29.3m and push the worldwide total to more than $105m.

The animation scored a quartet of number one debuts in Latin America led by Brazil on $2.9m from 397 and Argentina on $1.3m from 121. It opened in Colombia on $845,000 from 129 and Peru on $595,000 from 103.

In second weekend holds Hotel Transylvania climbed 8% in Australia where $2.3m from 452 resulted in $9.7m and third place and the animation grossed $2.7m in Mexico from 864 following a 25% drop for $7.4m. The Philippines and Japan have each generated $1.1m.

Resident Evil: Retribution crossed $150m in its fourth weekend of duty thanks to a $12.3m haul from $5,560 in 66 for $159.7m. The sci-fi horror took $10m through SPRI for $146.5m and opened at number one in Spain on $1.6m from 459 and added $2.2m in Japan from 757 for $40.8m after four weekends.

Retribution counts for a lot in Latin America, where Brazil has produced $8.8m after four weekends, Mexico $7.9m after three and Venezuela $4.2m after four. The film has amassed $2.8m in Italy and $2.4m in the UK, both after two.

  • UPDATE: Ted crossed $450m at the worldwide box office and added $11.2m through Universal Pictures International from 2,794 sites in 46 territories for $232.2m. The key results here were a $3.3m number two launch in Italy from 446 and a number one debut in Sweden on $979,000 from 103. Ted stayed top in the Netherlands for the fourth consecutive weekend as $784,000 from 106 propelled the tally to $5.6m. The R-rated comedy arrives in France this week.

The Bourne Legacy grossed $3.6m from 2,226 venues in 47 for $120.1m, while Savages has reached $15.7m and Dr Seuss’ The Lorax used a $1.5m number three debut in Japan to push the tally to $127.6m. Pitch Perfect started its international run by opening in fourth place in New Zealand on $457,459 including previews.

  • Sci-fi thriller Looper was projected to gross around $10m this weekend through FilmNation territories, which excludes China where the film is released by co-producer and co-financier DMG Entertainment. The industry still awaits official results for that territory, which last week celebrated a national holiday. Estimates from last weekend said the film opened on around $23m, although separate sources have told Screen International the figure was closer to $8m.

In Looper’s second weekend headline debut Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Co opened in Germany on $965,000, rising to $1.3m including previews. In holdovers the film finished second in the UK behind Taken 2 as $1.1m raised the running total to $8m and ranked fourth in Australia after $2m boosted the score to $6.9m. Brazil stands at $1.8m after two weekends.

  • Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International reported that Finding Nemo 3D added $600,000 for an $11.6m international running total. The Pixar smash grossed $527.9m internationally and $867.6m worldwide from its original 2003 release.
  • Warner Bros Pictures International did not report this weekend.

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