Following a sensational European weekend Finding Nemo will still be the one to watch this upcoming weekend with major bows planned for Italy on Dec 3 and Japan on Dec 6.

The animated hit has grossed $233.8m in international waters and should do well in Japan, bearing in mind that when Monsters, Inc opened there in March 2002 it grossed $4.5m in second place behind opener The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring.

Buena Vista International (BVI) executives expect Nemo to be on around $285m by Tuesday (Dec 9) and predict a finishing gross upwards of $400m.

Other BVI releases include Brother Bear in the UK on Dec 5, Freaky Friday in Spain on Dec 5 and Seabiscuit in Mexico also on Dec 5. To date Seabiscuit has grossed $11.5m in BVI territories.

The police action thriller S.W.A.T. has a major session in store this weekend and Columbia TriStar Film Distributors International (CTFDI) executives will be looking to build on its $38.2m running total (amount as of Nov 30).

The film opened in France on Dec 3 on 415 prints, Germany on Dec 4 on 614, Spain on Dec 5 on 410 and the UK on Dec 5 on 500.

The pairing of Colin Farrell and Samuel L Jackson should be enough to produce some impressive results for CTFDI. By way of comparison, Bad Boys 2 opened top in each of these markets in October, grossing $7.5m in Germany on its opening weekend, $5.3m in the UK, $4m in France and $3.7m in Spain.

Fox International opens Master And Commander on Dec 4 on 325 prints in Australia; a homecoming of sorts for Peter Weir and Russell Crowe that should produce a decent result.

The film has grossed $20.5m at the international box office to date. Other latest international grosses include LXG on $112.7m, 28 Days Later on $36.5m and Phone Booth on $50m.

The distributor will also open In America in Spain on Dec 5 on 80 prints. Jim Sheridan's acclaimed family drama has only been released in the UK and Belgium so far and has grossed $3.1m.

Universal opens Love Actually through UIP in Brazil, Mexico and Korea on Dec 5 on 150, 120 and 100 prints respectively. The comedy romance has a $55m international running total and opened through Studiocanal in France on Dec 3 on an estimated 450 prints.

In its first international release the number one US title Cat In The Hat opens through UIP in Mexico on Dec 5 on 375 prints. Updated figures for Intolerable Cruelty give the black comedy a $70m international running total.

The Matrix Revolutions goes into its fifth international weekend of holdovers and is not expected to take much over $10m, if that, given its rapid deceleration in the marketplace. As of Nov 30 it had grossed $253.5m.

Elsewhere Warner Bros International will release Looney Tunes: Back In Action in Germany on Dec 4 and Brazil and Spain on Dec 5. Mystic River opens in Brazil, Korea and Mexico on Dec 5.