Russia's Admiral sailed to the top of the international chart this week, following its world premiere on October 6, amassing $12.5m from 1,223 engagements in two territories and ending the reign of Universal's dancing queen, Mamma Mia! The Movie, which dropped 41% to $8.4m.
With Twentieth Century Fox distributing, the Channel One/Solyaris co-production Admiral took $11.3m in its home territory alone, making Andrei Kravchuk's film the biggest Russian opener of all time, breaking the $9.6m first weekend record set by The Irony Of Fate: The Sequel in 2007.
Promoted as Russia's answer to Titanic, the biopic is a story of tragic love set against the backdrop of the Russian Civil War, starring Konstantin Khabensky as Admiral Aleksandr Kolchak.
Channel One and Twentieth Century Fox, who were also behind the success of Timur Bekmambetov's Nightwatch and its sequel Daywatch (which collectively grossed $56m worldwide), are expecting Admiral to beat all previous records.
Boasting a budget of $20m - huge for a Russian film - it is being released as a feature running at 123 minutes, but will also be shown as a 10-part TV drama on Channel One.
The film's figures have bolstered what is already being hailed as a strong year in the territory. Revenues in Russia and the CIS increased 38.2% in the first six months of 2008, against the same period in 2007. Russian Film Business Today estimates this year's box-office total will be $750m-$770m.
Paramount Pictures's Eagle Eye climbed two positions to second place in the chart with a 26% increase in takings over the October 10-12 weekend, resigning Mamma Mia! to third place. Eagle Eye took $10.9m from around 3,000 screens, its week-on-week increase due in part to openings in eight territories including Germany, Spain and the Netherlands.
Additional reporting by Jack Warner
| ANALYSIS: INTERNATIONAL BOX-OFFICE WEEKEND OCTOBER 10-12 | ||||||
| (Last | 3-day | |||||
| week) | Film (origin) | Gross $ | Scrs | Cume $ | Terr | |
| 1 | New | Admiral (Rus) | $12,510,718 | 1,223 | $13,314,520 | 3 |
| 2 | (4) | Eagle Eye (US) | $10,879,769 | 3,030 | $29,407,880 | 38 |
| 3 | (1) | Mamma Mia! The Movie (US) | $8,374,778 | 3,713 | $390,719,746 | 46 |
| 4 | (5) | Burn After Reading (US-UK-Fr) | $7,070,255 | 1,257 | $23,316,325 | 17 |
| 5 | (2) | Painted Skin (HK-Ch) | $6,156,498 | 1,190 | $29,338,195 | 4 |
| 6 | (38) | Vicky Cristina Barcelona (US-Sp-Fr) | $5,664,047 | 768 | $14,335,119 | 9 |
| 7 | (12) | Righteous Kill (US) | $5,367,110 | 1,446 | $22,768,636 | 18 |
| 8 | (3) | Wall.E (US) | $5,351,000 | 2,698 | $238,128,000 | 21 |
| 9 | (8) | Suspect X (Jap) | $5,115,122 | 410 | $15,119,139 | 1 |
| 10 | (34) | The House Bunny (US) | $4,952,542 | 1,576 | $8,596,588 | 25 |
| 11 | (22) | Wanted (US) | $4,893,042 | 1,444 | $195,695,941 | 20 |
| 12 | (11) | Mirrors (US) | $4,788,723 | 1,680 | $25,436,420 | 21 |
| 13 | (9) | Tropic Thunder (US-Ger) | $3,519,835 | 1,841 | $54,643,582 | 38 |
| 14 | (7) | Beverly Hills Chihuahua (US) | $3,190,000 | 899 | $10,574,000 | 6 |
| 15 | New | Body Of Lies (US) | $3,156,213 | 607 | $3,423,126 | 7 |
| 16 | (24) | Disaster Movie (US) | $2,827,929 | 967 | $12,838,009 | 14 |
| 17 | (6) | The Baader Meinhof Complex (Ger) | $2,660,255 | 676 | $16,022,557 | 3 |
| 18 | (10) | Journey To The Center Of The Earth (US) | $2,486,060 | 947 | $92,234,608 | 32 |
| 19 | (17) | The Class (Fr) | $2,340,022 | 625 | $10,481,336 | 4 |
| 20 | (16) | The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas (UK) | $2,311,539 | 461 | $14,858,844 | 2 |
| 21 | New | No Problem (It) | $2,172,821 | 423 | $2,172,821 | 1 |
| 22 | New | Krabat (Ger) | $2,068,854 | 365 | $2,129,530 | 1 |
| 23 | New | Hello (Ind) | $2,026,753 | 548 | $2,026,753 | 7 |
| 24 | (18) | Taken (Fr) | $2,026,014 | 917 | $62,612,520 | 20 |
| 25 | (30) | Nights In Rodanthe (US) | $1,806,647 | 1,072 | $7,000,543 | 12 |
| 26 | (25) | Connected (HK) | $1,669,782 | 807 | $7,635,579 | 5 |
| 27 | (14) | Death Race (US) | $1,621,299 | 695 | $20,748,285 | 18 |
| 28 | (13) | Kidnap (Ind) | $1,612,643 | 763 | $7,143,415 | 17 |
| 29 | (15) | Babylon AD (Fr) | $1,594,147 | 1,529 | $42,786,096 | 30 |
| 30 | (21) | Faubourg 36 (Fr) | $1,518,147 | 616 | $8,929,525 | 3 |
| 31 | (28) | How To Lose Friends & Alienate People (UK) | $1,499,660 | 512 | $4,957,831 | 2 |
| 32 | New | Fritt Vilt 2 (Nor) | $1,469,096 | 94 | $1,469,096 | 1 |
| 33 | (19) | Go Fast (Fr) | $1,438,865 | 308 | $4,893,014 | 3 |
| 34 | (23) | You Don't Mess With The Zohan (US) | $1,342,692 | 926 | $99,505,889 | 31 |
| 35 | (26) | Cliente (Fr) | $1,329,334 | 405 | $4,121,833 | 2 |
| 36 | (27) | The Mummy: Tomb Of The Dragon ... (US) | $1,293,627 | 679 | $288,320,895 | 25 |
| 37 | * | Fly Me To The Moon (Bel) | $1,282,529 | 441 | $7,443,578 | 5 |
| 38 | * | The Women (US) | $1,189,268 | 553 | $9,163,717 | 7 |
| 39 | (20) | Drona (Ind) | $1,128,914 | 811 | $4,867,185 | 15 |
| 40 | (39) | Paco And The Magical Picture Book (Jap) | $1,026,157 | 292 | $18,508,052 | 1 |
| *Re-entry (c) Screen International, compiled by Leonard Klady | ||||||
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