"Titans" takes lead at foreign box office

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - "Clash of the Titans" ended the monthlong reign of "Alice in Wonderland" at the foreign box office during Easter weekend, becoming only the third title to take the crown this year.

Director Louis Leterrier's 3D, special effects-laden update of MGM's 1981 action fantasy loosely based on Greek mythology, grossed an estimated $44.2 million in 15 markets.

"Alice" fell to No. 3 after drawing $34.2 million from 51 markets. "Avatar," which led the field for the first eight weeks of the year, finished out of the top five with $4.6 million from 37 markets for a foreign total of $1.959 billion.

"Titans," which stars Sam Worthington, Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes, claimed the No. 1 spot in each country. Key markets included the U.K. ($7.8 million over three days), Spain ($8.6 million, five days), South Korea ($6.8 million, four days), and Australia ($5.9 million, four days). Openings in France and Germany are due this week.

Runner-up "How to Train Your Dragon" garnered $38.5 million overall from 54 markets, 19 of them new. Key markets for the DreamWorks Animation entry included the U.K ($7.8 million) and France ($4.7 million).

Director Tim Burton's "Alice" has grossed $422.3 million overseas thus far. Biggest weekend markets were France ($8.7 million, No. 1) and China ($7.3 million).

The weekend's No. 4 title was "Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang," with $10.3 million from 12 markets for an overseas total of $17.2 million. Fifth was "The Bounty Hunter," starring Jennifer Aniston and Gerard Butler, which laid claim to $9.3 million from 41 markets for an overseas total of $29.8 million.

New entries on the foreign circuit included "Kick-Ass," director Matthew Vaughn's comic book-based saga about a nerdy teenager turned superhero. It opened at No. 4 in the U.K. with $5.7 million. Lionsgate will release the film in North America on April 16.