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The Day The Earth Stood Still took the top spot on the international box-office chart for the December 12-14 weekend, giving Fox International its first number-one debut in five years. Opening day-and-date in 90 territories in addition to North America, the sci-fi remake took $39.2m from 7,715 screens, giving it a screen average of $5,000.
The film beat all competition in 53 of the territories it played, including the UK where, including previews, it grossed $4.2m from 465 screens, Russia ($5.6m from 721), Spain ($3.2m from 464) and Italy ($2.4m from 448).
In other territories, however, Keanu Reeves and his robot were not enough to overpower Paramount Pictures International's Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa. The DreamWorks Animation adventure stayed top in territories including France, Germany and Mexico, adding $34.3m three-day takings to its cumulative gross of $173.8m from seven weeks on international release.
Earth Stood Still has yet to open in key territories including Japan (December 19), South Korea (December 24), Australia (December 26) and Brazil (January 9).
The highest non-US entry of the weekend was Aditya Chopra's Bollywood hit Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, starring Shahrukh Khan, in fourth place. With Yash Raj Films distributing in 19 territories, the film grossed $8.4m across 1,095 screens, taking the second-highest screen average of the week with $7,700 per screen.
Warner Bros' Inkheart entered the chart at number 13, after launching in third and fourth place in Germany ($1.9m from 804 screens) and the UK ($1.1m from 410 screens) respectively, a screen average of $3,100 overall. Inkheart is a fantasy adventure based on Cornelia Funke's children's books and features a cast headed by Brendan Fraser, Paul Bettany and Helen Mirren. It is rolling out internationally before opening in North America on January 23.
| ANALYSIS: INTERNATIONAL BOX-OFFICE WEEKEND DECEMBER 12-14 | ||||||
| (Last | 3-day | |||||
| week) | Film (origin) | gross $ | Scrs | Cume $ | Terr | |
| 1 | New | The Day The Earth Stood Still (US) | $39,218,409 | 7,715 | $39,218,409 | 90 |
| 2 | (1) | Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (US) | $34,322,505 | 5,168 | $173,781,605 | 43 |
| 3 | (2) | Twilight (US) | $11,865,071 | 2,556 | $55,467,591 | 24 |
| 4 | New | Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi (Ind) | $8,424,139 | 1,095 | $8,424,139 | 19 |
| 5 | (3) | Quantum Of Solace (US-UK) | $5,055,409 | 3,892 | $367,375,858 | 66 |
| 6 | (4) | Bolt (US) | $4,941,641 | 1,916 | $28,685,858 | 11 |
| 7 | (7) | Wall-E (US) | $4,570,938 | 738 | $277,641,281 | 12 |
| 8 | (30) | Burn After Reading (US-UK-Fr) | $4,442,593 | 1,049 | $79,575,358 | 25 |
| 9 | (11) | Four Christmases (US) | $4,049,519 | 1,136 | $15,936,633 | 17 |
| 10 | (6) | Forever Enthralled (Ch) | $4,017,590 | 1,171 | $12,130,283 | 2 |
| 11 | (15) | Australia (Aus-US) | $3,871,355 | 1,048 | $14,656,233 | 5 |
| 12 | (8) | A.R.O.G. (Tur) | $3,476,096 | 535 | $15,676,066 | 6 |
| 13 | New | Inkheart (US-Ger-UK) | $3,085,149 | 992 | $3,085,149 | 1 |
| 14 | (17) | Overspeed Scandal (S Kor) | $3,042,351 | 390 | $7,725,801 | 1 |
| 15 | (5) | Transporter 3 (US-Fr) | $3,026,095 | 1,519 | $24,439,077 | 10 |
| 16 | (9) | High School Musical 3: Senior Year (US) | $2,759,377 | 2,103 | $145,179,889 | 32 |
| 17 | (10) | Body Of Lies (US) | $2,682,362 | 2,183 | $60,445,527 | 51 |
| 18 | (16) | Valley Of The Wolves: Muro (Turk) | $2,587,268 | 342 | $9,635,199 | 5 |
| 19 | New | All About Women (Ch) | $2,266,029 | 1,156 | $2,266,029 | 3 |
| 20 | New | Ip Man (Ch) | $2,195,300 | 1,275 | $2,918,500 | 1 |
| 21 | (13) | Changeling (US) | $1,976,689 | 983 | $22,535,321 | 9 |
| 22 | (12) | Agathe Clery (Fr) | $1,875,665 | 515 | $6,190,539 | 3 |
| 23 | (18) | 252: Signal Of Life (Jap) | $1,864,535 | 341 | $6,286,064 | 1 |
| 24 | New | Bleach: Fade To Black (Jap) | $1,679,634 | 239 | $1,679,634 | 1 |
| 25 | (32) | The Women (US) | $1,658,684 | 876 | $18,921,345 | 14 |
| 26 | New | Major: The Pitch Of Friendship (Jap) | $1,646,757 | 311 | $1,646,757 | 1 |
| 27 | (19) | Vicky Cristina Barcelona (US-Sp) | $1,542,280 | 713 | $50,182,083 | 21 |
| 28 | New | Secrets Of State (Fr) | $1,525,064 | 260 | $1,525,064 | 1 |
| 29 | (22) | Red Cliff Part One (Ch) | $1,494,426 | 533 | $117,649,093 | 1 |
| 30 | (14) | Saw V (US) | $1,262,318 | 967 | $46,851,917 | 24 |
| 31 | New | A Pain In The Ass (Fr) | $1,207,578 | 631 | $1,207,578 | 3 |
| 32 | New | As God Commands (It) | $1,188,648 | 247 | $1,188,648 | 1 |
| 33 | (23) | Public Enemy Number One: Part 2 (Fr-Can-It) | $1,154,349 | 580 | $13,646,022 | 4 |
| 34 | (25) | I'd Rather Be A Shellfish (Jap) | $1,153,286 | 330 | $17,468,205 | 1 |
| 35 | (20) | New Year's Tariff (Rus) | $1,068,414 | 501 | $3,099,626 | 1 |
| 36 | (21) | Anything For Her (Fr) | $1,012,002 | 271 | $3,176,770 | 1 |
| 37 | New | Mia Mia And The Migoo (Fr) | $830,882 | 304 | $830,882 | 1 |
| 38 | (33) | Mr Tadano's Secret Mission: From Japan ... (Jap) | $634,349 | 267 | $2,462,543 | 1 |
| 39 | (37) | Welcome To The Sticks (Fr) | $613,678 | 402 | $229,388,846 | 7 |
| 40 | (40) | Happy Flight (Jap) | $593,936 | 309 | $12,629,675 | 1 |
| * Re-entry (c) Screen International, compiled by Leonard Klady | ||||||
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