'G.I. Joe' continues overseas box-office domination

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra," the live-action feature based on the Hasbro toy line, held on to the top spot at the international box office and is nearing foreign grosses of $100 million after only 12 days of release.

The overseas box-office tally for the Paramount film nonetheless dropped nearly 40 percent from its opening round, registering $26.2 million overall from 7,039 screens in 49 markets. The movie's foreign total stands at $91.5 million, and its worldwide gross, including North America, is $190.3 million.

Sony introduced "District 9," which finished No. 1 in North America, in nine foreign markets for a total of $7 million drawn from 750 screens. Directed by Neill Blomkamp, a protege of producer Peter Jackson, the sci-fi tale of aliens in South Africa opened at No. 1 in Russia, New Zealand and Ukraine, and No. 2 in Australia.

Second for the weekend was Warner Bros.' "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," which registered $14.5 million from more than 8,000 screens in 64 markets, pushing its foreign gross to $577.7 million. Worldwide, the sixth "Harry Potter" has grossed $861.7 million, making it No. 17 among all-time box-office earners, behind "Finding Nemo."

No. 3 was 20th Century Fox's "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs," which bagged $11.2 million from 6,532 sites in 66 markets, with a $2.4 million opening in Korea. The animated threequel, with a foreign box-office total of $600.7 million, is now the first Fox film since 1997's "Titanic" (foreign gross of $1.24 billion) to cross the $600 million mark overseas.

Fourth was Pixar/Disney's "Up," which continued its marathon foreign run with a $10.6 million weekend from 2,396 screens in 19 territories. Its overseas total is $128 million, with a global box-office gross of $415 million.

No. 5 for the second consecutive weekend was Universal's "Public Enemies." Propelled by six market openings, the period crime drama directed by Michael Mann and starring Johnny Depp drew $9.2 million, lifting its foreign total to $75.5 million.

Fox's "Night at The Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian" is winding up its overseas run, and going out with a bang. In its first weekend in Japan, the Ben Stiller comedy produced $8.62 million from 625 sites. The film's foreign total stands at $222.4 million.

Thanks to an $8 million weekend from 3,000 sites in 50 territories, Warner Bros.' hit comedy "The Hangover" raised its foreign box-office total to $136.6 million and its worldwide gross to more than $400 million.

"G-Force," a big-budget digital animation title from producer Jerry Bruckheimer and Disney, drew $6.7 million from 2,079 sites in 17 markets for a foreign total to date of $40.9 million.

Topping the U.K. charts was New Line's "The Time Traveler's Wife," a romantic drama co-starring Rachel McAdams and Eric Bana. Its opening round produced $1.65 million from 426 sites.

(Editing by Sheri Linden at Reuters)