"Destination" dethrones "Basterds" overseas

Director Quentin Tarantino arrives for a screening of his new film ''Inglourious Basterds'' in Toronto, August 12, 2009.

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - As was the case in North America, "The Final Destination" narrowly outgrossed "Inglourious Basterds" in sluggish weekend trading at the foreign box office.

The fourth installment in the horror series earned $15.5 million from 18 territories. Quentin Tarantino's World War II thriller followed with $14.3 million from 35 territories, having led the foreign charge last weekend.

"The Final Destination" enjoyed muscular No. 1 openings in Germany ($4 million) and Poland ($1.3 million) as well as the Netherlands and Austria. So far, "Destination" is outpacing the comparable foreign gross of its three predecessors, accumulating $32.5 million after its second round. Worldwide, it has grossed $83.1 million thanks to a second No. 1 finish domestically. Openings in Russia and Mexico are set for Wednesday.

"Basterds" opened in Finland, Croatia, Romania and Argentina and in each market registered the best opening-weekend gross of any previous Tarantino title. The film has accumulated $83.3 million overseas and $174.3 million worldwide. With 26 markets to play during the next three months, the international run of "Basterds" is on track to become the biggest to date for a Tarantino film. The director's "Kill Bill: Vol. 1" grossed $111.4 million in 2003.

The year's biggest foreign release to date, "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs," added $10.8 million from 39 markets, to boost its international total to $657.5 million. Fox said the cartoon is on pace by the middle of the week to take the No. 3 all-time spot overseas behind only 1997's "Titanic" ($1.24 billion) and 2003's "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" ($742 million).

Another cartoon, "Up," elevated $8.6 million from 32 territories, raising its foreign total to $168.9 million. "The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3" opened in six markets including Japan (No. 2 with $2.3 million) for an overall weekend take of $6.4 million from 42 territories. Its foreign total rose to $48.5 million.

Other foreign totals: "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," $619.6 million; "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen," $430 million; "The Hangover," $168.3 million; "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra," $138.8 million; "The Proposal," $124.7 million; "Public Enemies," $95 million; "G-Force," $76.6 million; "The Ugly Truth," $28.5 million; "District 9," $21.6 million.

(Editing by DGoodman at Reuters)