Zorro Leaves its Mark

November 27, 2005

The Legend of Zorro fell from second to sixth this week and because of that its quest from $100 million internationally took a serious hit. Over the weekend the film pulled in $4.20 million on 4062 screens in 62 markets for a running tally of $80.73 million. In France the film fell 57% to $1.01 million over the weekend and $14.80 million during its four-week run while it had a similar drop-off in Spain where it was down 56% to $475,000 over the weekend and $9.10 million in total. The box office was less kind in Russia, (down 68% to $136,000); Germany, (down 70% to $232,000) and the U.K., (down 83% to $120,000).

• The Brothers Grimm continues its quest toward respectability adding $3.9 million on 1382 screens in 17 markets to its total of $55.84 million internationally. In a couple of weeks it should hit $100 million worldwide, which should be enough to save someone's job. Highlights this week include a first place debut in South Korea with $1.50 million on 159 screens over the weekend and $1.72 million including Thursday, but the film also finished in first place in the Czech Republic with $109,000 on 20 screens during its second week of release for a $230,000 running total there. The film scored $755,000 on 231 screens in its second weekend in Italy for a $2.22 million total there while in Japan it added $656,000 on 251 screens for a $7.05 million running tally.
• The Corpse Bride held up reasonably well given the competition adding $3.27 million on 2205 screens in 34 markets to its international box office of $58.12 million. The film opened in third place in Australia with $683,000 on 163 screens over the weekend and $880,000 including previews. The film is still in the top ten in a couple of major markets including South Korea where it finished in eighth place with $219,000 over the weekend and $2.44 million in total while in Italy it added $336,000 to its running total of $5.70 million.
• Elizabethtown opened in half-a-dozen more markets over the weekend but none of them were strong enough to compensate for the poor holdovers as the film fell to $3.18 million on 1978 screens in 30 markets for an international total of $18.54 million. Its best opening in terms of raw dollars was South Korea where it made $277,000 on 88 screens for seventh over the weekend and $319,000 in total but it finished in fourth place in Russia with $245,000 on 100 screens over the weekend and $270,000 since Thursday. Holdovers include Japan where the film suffered through the worst week-to-week drop-off in the top ten falling 45% to $462,000 over the weekend and $2.16 million in total.
• The Constant Gardener earned $2.88 million on 884 screens in 14 markets for a international total of $13.47 million so far. Openings include $470,000 on 138 screens in Australia and $69,000 on 23 screens in New Zealand, both fifth place finishes. The film was not as strong in its debut in the Netherlands where it scored a seventh place finish with $70,000 on 20 screens over the weekend, $91,000 including previews. As for holdovers, the film did well in Spain down just 20% to $587,000 on 195 screens for a $2.81 million run and was only marginally worse in the U.K. dropping by 27% to $1.26 million for a $4.09 million total there.
• It was almost a milestone weekend for Saw II as added $2.67 million on 768 screens in 8 markets for a $19.93 million international total, which pushed its worldwide total to $99.7 million. It easily crossed $100 million on Monday. The film opened in first place in Australia with $1.28 million on 173 screens, which was actually a weaker than expected result. Meanwhile in Turkey the film fell just 21% to $332,000 for the weekend and $941,000 during its run but in the U.K. it tumbled 63% to $484,000 on 270 screens for a running total of $11.94 million.
• The competition was particularly hard on Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit as it fell out of the top five with just $2.64 million on 2868 screens in 35 markets, however, that was still enough to lift the film's international total to $120.30 million. The film is still in the top five in the U.K. where it added $866,000 on 433 screens to its total of $53.49 million there.
• Joyeux Noel, (Merry Christmas) fell just 38% in its native French allowing it to climb into first place with $2.32 million on 522 screens, which was the vast majority of the films $2.38 million weekend haul.
• Mellisa P, an Italian film, open in first place in its native market with $2.25 million on 331 screens for the third best opening for a local film this year.
• The 40-Year Old Virgin's international run is starting to wind down with it earning $2.16 million on 1253 screens in 32 markets for an international total of $54.51 million. That is about twice as much as I would have expected the film to earn on the international scene, so the studio should be really happy. In France the film fell 46% to $722,000 on 295 screens for a two-week total of $2.20 million while in Sweden it dipped just 16% to $124,000 over the weekend and $322,000 in total.
• The French film, Les Chevaliers Du Ciel, (a.k.a. Sky Fighters) had a poor second weekend performance falling 52% to $1.95 million on 535 screens for a total of $6.44 million. Adding in Belgium and Switzerland and the film had a total of $2.05 million on 557 screens and a total of $6.74 million.
• March of the Penguins opened in Italy over the weekend and that helped the film's box office climb to $1.83 million on 713 screens in five markets for an international total of $32.16 million. Italy provided the bulk of that figure with its second place, $1.27 million total on 313 screens.
• There were no new openings for Match Point this weekend but generally favorable holdovers helped the film earn $1.81 million on 532 screens in 4 markets to its total of $12.75 million. In France the film earned $856,000 on 348 screens for a total of $8.51 million while in Belgium in climbed a couple of spots to 5th with $110,000 over the weekend and $348,000 in total.
• It was a hat trick for Always - Sunset On Third Street, which has finished first in its native Japan for three weeks in a row. This time it was down just 11% to $1.63 million on 270 screens for a running tally of $9.25 million.
• Doom is all but dead as even a major market opening couldn't help it climb on the charts this weekend earning $1.56 million weekend haul earned on 1167 screens in 33 markets for a total of $17.89 million. Nearly had of that figure came from France where the film opened in eighth place in with just $730,000 on 246 screens.
• Shadowless Sword opened in second place in its native South Korean with $1.53 million on 263 screens over the weekend and $1.73 million in total.
• Mr. Socrates fell from first to third in its native South Korea but still earned $1.45 million on 233 screens over the weekend for a total of $4.87 million so far.
• Le Petit Lieutenant opened in its native market of France scoring a third place, $1.43 million opening on 202 screens.
• A History of Violence sunk to just $1.40 million on 660 screens in 24 markets for a $17.49 million total so far. The film opened in first place in Argentina with $100,000 on 32 screens but didn't perform as well in Poland finishing in fifth place with $64,000 on 40 screens. Its best market over the weekend was still France where it added $711,000 on 243 screens to its $4.17 million total there, but it is also performing relatively well in Denmark with $175,000 on 37 screens and Belgium with $101,000 on 35 screens.
• Lord of War had opening in a couple of major markets, but disappointing results in both left the film with just $1.33 million on 481 screens in 13 markets for an international total of $11.95 million so far. In South Korea the film managed to finish in fifth place with $316,000 on 88 screens over the weekend and $360,000 in total while in Italy the film earned $479,000 on 143 screens but only managed to place sixth. Other openings include fourth place debuts in both Finland with $38,000 on 6 screens and Iceland with $20,000 on 4 screens.
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire crushed Nanny McPhee sending it plummeting 52% in its native U.K. to $1.10 million on 433 screens for a total of $27.16 million, which is probably more than the film will earn domestically.
• The South Korean film, A Moment to Remember, remained in second place in Japan with $1.10 million on 301 screens for a five-week total of $18.86 million.
• Prime made its international debut with a first place in Russia with $563,000 on 147 screens over the weekend and $625,000 including Thursday. Meanwhile, it scored a fourth place, $527,000 opening on 178 screens in Australia.
• Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang slipped down the charts with $961,000 on 375 screens in 8 markets for a total of $7.34 million so far. This week it opened in Spain but barely managed to make it in the top twenty with $55,000 on 35 screens, including previews. In the U.K. the film was down just 32% to $531,061 on 156 screens, which allowed it to climb a spot to sixth on the charts. The film hung on even better in Australia dropping by a mere 19% to $275,000 on 65 screens, but it still fell two spots to seventh.
• Into the Blue continues to fall down the charts earning just $926,000 on 655 screens in 16 markets for a total of $18.93 million so far. It hard to find any result that could be considered a highlight, but it did earn $259,000 on 232 screens in Spain, but that was down 57% from last weekend and not enough to keep the film in the top ten.
• The Italian film, La Seconda Notte Di Nozze dipped just 11% during its second weekend in its native market earning $854,000 on 241 screens for a total of $2.46 million so far.
• Oliver Twist opened in third place in Hong Kong with $146,000 on 21 screens, which is below average for the market but inline with expectations. Its best market this week was France where in added $495,000 on 293 screens to its five-week total of $8.49 million.
• The South Korean film, The Beast And The Beauty, fell 44% to $619,000 on 121 screens over the weekend for a total of $7.03 million in the market .
• Pride and Prejudice remained in fifth place in Germany with $367,000 on 297 screens for a $5.75 million run while it fell to ninth place in Australia with $205,000 on 164 screens for $4.56 million so far.
• Wolf Creek is showing strong legs in its native Australia dropping by 35% to $416,000 over the weekend and $2.92 million during its run. However, it really struggled in Italy earning just $89,000 on 53 screens, including previews.
• Four Brothers had similar sophomore session drop-offs in both Germany, (down 47% to $292,000) and Australia, (down 45% to $156,000).
• The Libertine opened in the U.K. with $477,000 on 203 screens.
• SPL, a movie from Hong Kong, opened in first place in its native market with an impressive $437,000 on 35 screens.
• An Unfinished Life opened in seventh place in Italy with $387,000 on 163 screens, which is lower than one would expect.
• The Interpreter added another $346,000 on 132 screens to its $6.17 million total in Italy and it now has over $90 million internationally.
• Crash started weaker than expected in Italy, but it held up very well losing just 22% and staying in ninth place with $344,000 over the weekend and $974,000 overall.
• Hustle & Flow opened in eighth place in Germany with $292,000 on 122 screens, which isn't a great result considering how kind the market usually is to movies with a urban target demographic. But it was miles ahead of its performance in the U.K. where it fell 60% to $41,000 on 36 screens for a two-week total of $184,000.
• The Matador opened in France but its performance was unimpressive has it could only manage $316,000 on 165 screens, and that was for the whole week.
• Must Love Dogs opened in the Netherlands over the weekend but it was nothing short of a disaster at the film earned just $33,000 on 24 screens. It's opening in New Zealand was stronger with $73,000 on 40 screens, but still not a particularly good debut. In Russia earning it dropped just 38% to $118,000 on 103 screens for a two-week total of $412,000.
• Six weeks, that's how long The World's Fastest Indian has been at the top of the New Zealand box office. This weekend it dipped by just 18% adding $215,000 on 62 screens to its $2.57 million total there. There's literally zero chance that the film will have the same kind of run stateside, but this does increase the chances that the film will be a sleeper hit.
• The Tiger and the Snow fell out of the top ten in its native Italy, but it still made $212,000 on 97 screens for a six-week total of $16.93 million in the market.
• The British film, The Descent, slipped a couple of spaces in Germany falling to 13th with $169,000 on 75 screens over the weekend and $549,000 overall.
• Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind fell 53% during its second weekend in South Korea, but it still managed to remain in ninth place with $156,000 over the weekend for a two-week total of $713,000.
• The Transporter 2 opened in fifth place in Argentina with $46,000 on 20 screens. In New Zealand it fell 51% to $45,000 on 39 screens and was no better on Poland losing 62% to $40,000 on 40 screens.
• Proof opened in Hong Kong scoring a fourth place debut with $120,000 on 12 screens.
• Serenity opened in fifth place in Iceland with $18,000 on three screens while it managed $53,000 on 12 screens in the Netherlands. During its second weekend in New Zealand the film fell 61% to $41,000 on 38 screens for a $174,000 tw-week total there.
• Dungeons And Dragons: The Elemental Might, which went direct-to-DVD here, opened in Russia with $92,000 on 46 screens over the weekend, $158,000 including Thursday.
• Valiant fell 56% during the weekend in Italy adding $67,000 to its total of $1.14 million there.
• Factotum opened in the U.K. with $64,000 on just 15 screens finishing in 14th place in the process.
• The British movie Stoned opened in its native market but only managed $58,000 on 59 screens finishing in 17th.
• 2 for the Money debuted in sixth place in Poland with $46,000 on 25 screens, which is a poor result but on par with the rest of its international run, a run that has pulled in just $1 million so far.
• Taj Mahal: An Eternal Love Story opened in semi-limited release in the U.K. but even so its $42,000 on 26 screens is disappointing.
• Revolver opened in Poland but barely made eighth place with $41,000 on 55 screens. This bodes very poorly for the film's debut here in January.
• The Cave's decent in Argentina was on par with expectations as it dropped 37% to $39,000 over the weekend and $117,000 during its run..
• Mindhunters continues to perform better than expected in Poland adding $31,000 on 48 screens to is three-week total of $304,000.
• Stealth was virtually unseen in Poland where it barely made the top ten with $31,000 on 25 screens.
• Bee Season opened in Australia with just $23,000 on 22 screens, barely enough to reach the top twenty and even weaker than it was here.
• Waiting... opened in Iceland but missed the top ten with $4200, however, it was playing in only one theatre.

Filed under: International Box Office, The 40 Year-old Virgin, Saw II, La marche de l'empereur, Four Brothers, The Interpreter, Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, Crash, Corpse Bride, Nanny McPhee, The Legend of Zorro, Must Love Dogs, The Transporter 2, Pride & Prejudice, The Brothers Grimm, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Constant Gardener, Stealth, A History of Violence, Doom, Elizabethtown, Serenity, Lord of War, Match Point, Prime, Hustle & Flow, Valiant, Into the Blue, Wolf Creek, Waiting..., The Cave, The Matador, An Unfinished Life, Proof, The World's Fastest Indian, The Libertine, Mindhunters, Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang, Oliver Twist, Bee Season, Factotum, Revolver, Dungeons & Dragons: Wrath of the Dragon God, 2 For the Money