"Quantum" storms overseas box office for 5th week
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - It's Bond once again on the overseas circuit as "Quantum of Solace" dominated the international box office for the fifth consecutive weekend.
The Sony/MGM's action feature tallied $20.1 million from 8,755 screens in 73 markets and raised its foreign gross to $340.1 million.
"Quantum" is $92 million away from overtaking 2006's "Casino Royale" as the biggest foreign grosser of the 22-title Bond series. ("Casino Royale's" offshore revenue totals $432.1 million.) The latest Bond film's foreign total is nearly two and a half times its $141.1 million domestic total.
No. 2 for the weekend, DreamWorks Animation/Paramount's "Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa," busted loose in 12 new territories, finishing No. 1 in Spain, Portugal and Colombia. The overall tally was $12.5 million from 2,364 dates in 24 markets. The animation title's overseas total is $71.5 million, with openings in 11 major markets scheduled for the coming week.
No. 3, Warner's espionage drama "Body of Lies," continues to show more spark internationally with lively openings in Mexico and Brazil, bringing the weekend tally to $8.3 million from 3,447 situations in 54 markets. Its overseas total is $43.7 million.
Ranking No. 4 was Summit International's teen vampire saga "Twilight," which grabbed $7.6 million from 1,618 screens in 15 markets for an overseas total of $19.9 million and $139.6 million worldwide.
Disney premiered "Bolt," Pixar's digitally animated tale of a TV celebrity talking dog (voiced by John Travolta), in Russia, Italy and Poland for an estimated $6.6 million from 1,070 screens, sufficient to rank No. 5 during the weekend.
A significant weekend launch was 20th Century Fox's No. 1 Down Under opening, simultaneous with its North American debut, of director Baz Luhrmann's "Australia" for $5 million from 645 dates.
The $130 million epic showcasing Luhrmann's native Australia and starring fellow Aussies Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman also played Jamaica and Trinidad, and tallied an estimated $5.1 million overall. It worldwide total stands at $25.1 million.
The weekend's No. 1 domestic title, "Four Christmases," New Line's holiday-themed comedy starring Reese Witherspoon and Vince Vaughn, opened via local distributor Entertainment in the No. 1 spot in the U.K. with an estimated $2.1 million.
Also in the U.K., "Changeling," director Clint Eastwood's period drama starring Angelina Jolie, debuted No. 3 with $1.9 million from 349 locations, the best opening to date for a Clint Eastwood-directed title in the market. Over the weekend "Changeling" generated $4.4 million from 1,040 situations in five markets.
Reuters/Hollywood Reporter
