The Kingdom Of Heaven global crusade begins this weekend as FoxInternational rolls out the historical epic on more than 7,000 prints in 97territories.

Ridley Scott's picture opens in South Korea on May 4 on 289 prints, followed byGermany, Mexico and Australia on May 5 on 851, 540 and 365 respectively.

Kingdom Of Heaven touches down onUK shores on May 6 on 700 prints, while same-day releases in Spain, Brazil andRussia will see the picture open on 435, 395 and 350 respectively.

Fox International holds no rights for France and Italy, however thoseterritories will open through Pathe on May 4 and Medusa and Pathe on May 6respectively.

There seems little doubt that Kingdom Of Heaven will be the one to beat this weekend, given thescale of the marketing and distribution operation and the growing recognitionof British star Orlando Bloom. The picture is set to open in Japan on May 14.

Fox International executives added that the animated hit Robots has grossed $105.4m and thriller Hide And Seek stands at $65m at time of writing.

Sony Pictures Releasing International top brass will be hoping for strong holdsfor XXX: The Next Level followinglast weekend's day-and-date release on that title, which has amassed $19.5m attime of writing. The romantic comedy Hitch stands at $178.7m.

Buena Vista International has no major openings this weekend. Executivesreported that The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy has grossed $12m, while family comedy The Pacifierhas taken $42m.

Warner Bros Pictures International was set to release Miss Congeniality 2 in Italy on May 8 and the comedy sequel has grossed$47.6m to date. The horror picture House Of Wax opens in Taiwan day-and-date with North America thisweekend.

Latest totals put A Very Long Engagement on $62.9m, while Constantine has taken $142.5m to date.

UIP has no major releases planned as the shadow of Kingdom Of Heaven dominates the landscape this weekend. However decentholds are expected for Universal's The Interpreter, which stands at $41.5m, while Paramount's Saharashould bump up its $18.1minternational running total.