French comedy Bienvenue Chez Les Ch'tis enjoyed its second weekend at number one, taking an impressive $29.8m from three territories while keeping new entry 10,000 BC at bay.
Ch'tis fell a mere 8% over the three-day period and played on 905 screens for a whopping $32,916 screen average, the highest of the weekend. The film, released through Pathe, was at number one in France, Belgium and Switzerland and has taken a mammoth $75.4m after just two weekends on release.
The Dany Boon comedy is proving to be one of the territory's highest grossing French films of the new millennium - it trails just behind 2006's hit Les Bronzes 3: Amis Pour La Vie ($76.7m) and has already beaten 2002's top film Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra.
A further four French titles helped the territory see its product account for 20% of the top 40 revenue this weekend. Pathe's Asterix At The Olympic Games fell 50% in its seventh weekend with a $3.2m take, but stayed within the top 20. The fantasy adventure has taken nearly $123.5m to date from 26 territories.
New entry Female Agents, starring Sophie Marceau, generated $2.2m over the weekend, putting it at number 25 on the chart. The espionage drama, directed by Jean-Paul Salome (Bonne Nuit), played on 510 screens in France and Belgium for a $4,220 screen average. It has taken $2.2m including previews and is released through Cineart in Belgium and TFM Distribution in France.
The fall of Paris
Studio Canal's romantic comedy Paris fell 47% with a $1.6m take from 515 screens for a $3,058 screen average. It has grossed $12.1m after three weekends on release. And Europa's Taken still remains in the top 40 in its second weekend despite a 32% dip. The action thriller, written by Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen, enjoyed a $1.4m take and has generated nearly $4m to date in France.
Italian film Grande, Grosso E Verdone was the highest non-US entry this weekend with an $8.5m take. The comedy, released through Filmauro, played on 703 screens in Italy and boasted a $12,089 screen average, the third highest of the weekend. The film is directed by Carlo Verdone, whose 2006 comedy My Best Enemy took $23.5m in Italy.
Three Japanese films generated more than $9m over the weekend, spearheaded by the latest instalment of the Doraemon franchise which opened at number seven with $5m. Doraemon: Nobita To Midori No Kyojinten played on 344 screens in its home territory for a colossal $14,686 screen average. It is distributed by Toho and is based on the Japanese manga series by Fujiko F Fujio.
Toho had another manga-based hit with Eiga: Kurosagi, which opened to $2.8m at the weekend. The film, directed by Yasuharu Ishii, played on 315 screens in Japan for an $8,980 screen average.
Meanwhile, Warner Bros release L: Change The World fell 56% with a $1.2m take. It has generated $32.1m from five territories after five weekends on release.
Chinese warriors
The Chinese-language film An Empress And The Warriors opened in the top 30 with a $2.1m take this weekend. The action drama, directed by Tony Siu-Tung Ching, played across 645 screens for a $3,318 screen average and boasts a $2.6m tally, including previews. It features a top Asian cast including Donnie Yen, Leon Lai and Kelly Chen and is released through Mei Ah Entertainment.
Turkish comedy Recep Ividek is still fighting strong in the international arena - the film took $2.5m in its third weekend, falling 43%. It played across just 233 screens in Turkey for a solid $10,573 screen average and has generated $18.4m to date.
Elsewhere, Roland Emmerich's 10,000 BC was the only new entry from the US in this weekend's international chart. The prehistoric epic, distributed by Warner Bros, came in at number two with a hefty $25.2m take from 3,617 screens in 20 territories.
The top 40 international films generated $181.2m from 44,130 screens for the period March 7-9.
| ANALYSIS: INTERNATIONAL BOX-OFFICE WEEKEND MARCH 7-9 | ||||||
| (Last | 3-day | |||||
| week) | Film (origin) | gross $ | Scrs | Cume $ | Terr | |
| 1 | (1) | Bienvenue Chez Les Ch'tis (Fr) | $29,789,375 | 905 | $75,435,410 | 3 |
| 2 | New | 10,000 BC (US) | $25,271,848 | 3,617 | $26,006,732 | 20 |
| 3 | (2) | Jumper (US) | $12,223,147 | 3,633 | $95,980,081 | 41 |
| 4 | (3) | Vantage Point (US) | $10,029,794 | 2,825 | $27,540,148 | 32 |
| 5 | New | Grande, Grosso E Verdone (It) | $8,498,597 | 703 | $8,498,597 | 1 |
| 6 | (4) | No Country For Old Men (US) | $7,069,167 | 1,881 | $60,557,551 | 47 |
| 7 | New | Doraemon: Nobita To Midori ... (Jap) | $5,052,021 | 344 | $5,052,021 | 1 |
| 8 | (17) | Step Up 2 The Streets (US) | $5,046,130 | 811 | $12,125,529 | 13 |
| 9 | (32) | The Other Boleyn Girl (US-UK) | $4,722,428 | 1,007 | $7,003,875 | 13 |
| 10 | (14) | The Water Horse: Legend Of The Deep (US) | $4,432,725 | 1,946 | $45,073,260 | 37 |
| 11 | (13) | 27 Dresses (US) | $4,288,681 | 1,793 | $40,558,964 | 31 |
| 12 | (8) | Juno (US) | $4,042,942 | 1,716 | $55,043,125 | 29 |
| 13 | (10) | There Will Be Blood (US) | $3,571,031 | 1,106 | $23,365,508 | 49 |
| 14 | (6) | Meet the Spartans (US) | $3,527,064 | 1,390 | $18,315,877 | 14 |
| 15 | (15) | The Chaser (S Kor) | $3,228,394 | 410 | $24,239,156 | 1 |
| 16 | (7) | Asterix At The Olympic Games (Fr-Sp-It) | $3,198,476 | 2,811 | $123,496,968 | 26 |
| 17 | (5) | The Golden Compass (US-UK) | $3,188,990 | 702 | $275,450,401 | 9 |
| 18 | (9) | Rambo (US) | $2,864,125 | 2,090 | $55,483,245 | 36 |
| 19 | New | Eiga: Kurosagi (Jap) | $2,828,597 | 315 | $2,828,597 | 1 |
| 20 | (19) | Earth (Ger-UK) | $2,516,584 | 537 | $59,158,646 | 4 |
| 21 | (18) | Recep Ivedek (Tur) | $2,463,519 | 233 | $18,372,661 | 2 |
| 22 | (11) | Sweeney Todd ... (US-UK) | $2,317,804 | 1,565 | $95,080,008 | 37 |
| 23 | (16) | National Treasure: Book Of Secrets (US) | $2,263,317 | 1,632 | $222,914,923 | 28 |
| 24 | (12) | The Bucket List (US) | $2,208,539 | 1,153 | $46,765,777 | 26 |
| 25 | New | Female Agents (Fr) | $2,152,155 | 510 | $2,159,837 | 2 |
| 26 | New | An Empress And The Warriors (Ch-HK) | $2,140,000 | 645 | $2,675,000 | 1 |
| 27 | * | The Spiderwick Chronicles (US) | $2,021,756 | 577 | $6,512,328 | 5 |
| 28 | (40) | Be Kind Rewind (US) | $2,005,734 | 547 | $7,581,184 | 3 |
| 29 | (28) | The Orphanage (Mex-Sp) | $1,964,566 | 886 | $57,559,982 | 13 |
| 30 | * | The Game Plan (US) | $1,771,157 | 422 | $27,912,145 | 6 |
| 31 | (20) | Die Wilden Kerle 5 (Ger) | $1,720,075 | 912 | $10,894,931 | 3 |
| 32 | (35) | The Kite Runner (US) | $1,650,979 | 777 | $33,173,789 | 32 |
| 33 | (21) | Paris (Fr) | $1,575,088 | 515 | $12,111,174 | 3 |
| 34 | * | Untraceable (US) | $1,478,340 | 512 | $3,785,353 | 11 |
| 35 | (27) | Taken (Fr) | $1,435,003 | 350 | $3,995,075 | 1 |
| 36 | (26) | Ba:Bo (S Kor) | $1,401,169 | 250 | $4,913,889 | 1 |
| 37 | (25) | We Are From The Future (Rus) | $1,352,664 | 358 | $8,623,914 | 2 |
| 38 | (30) | The Bank Job (UK-Aus) | $1,350,416 | 325 | $4,267,162 | 1 |
| 39 | (23) | Charlie Wilson's War (US) | $1,267,770 | 974 | $42,494,790 | 34 |
| 40 | (22) | L: Change The World (Jap) | $1,248,839 | 445 | $32,114,084 | 5 |
| *Re-entry (c) Screen International, compiled by Leonard Klady | ||||||
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