"Mr. Bean" drives overseas box office

"Mr. Bean" drives overseas box office

By Frank Segers
News from yahoo news

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - The epic violence of "300" ceded the lead at the foreign box office to the family-oriented "Mr. Bean's Holiday," which grossed an estimated $33.3 million from 26 territories.

The Rowan Atkinson' comedy finished a decisive first in 21 of its 24 new territories, having bowed in Singapore and Malaysia the previous weekend.

Defying exceptionally balmy weather in the U.K., "Holiday" finished first with an estimated $12.8 million, the biggest opening of the year in the market.

Other No. 1 debuts included Germany ($5.5 million) and Australia ($3.2 million) -- both also the markets' biggest bows of the year. In Spain, "Holiday" trailed "300" with $2.2 million.

"Holiday" continues its two-month international rollout this weekend with openings in 18 markets, including Italy, Brazil and Mexico; the film's U.S. bow is August 31. So far on the international circuit, it has accumulated $35.6 million. The first feature in the series, 1997's "Bean," finished with $205 million overseas.

Finishing a close No. 2 for the weekend was "300," which battled its way to $30 million from 52 markets -- exactly twice the number of territories played by "Holiday." The Zack Snyder-directed ancient Greek epic, which topped the international box office for the previous two stanzas, has an overseas total of $125.5 million.

There were two key No. 1 openings, in Brazil and Argentina.

It was key holdovers, however, that threw off the biggest grosses. The U.K. led the list with $4.4 million in the second weekend, for a market total of $17.6 million. In Spain, where it ranked No. 1 for the second weekend, "300" muscled its way to an estimated $3.6 million, for a total of $12.1 million.

In Italy, the title also held the No. 1 spot for the second consecutive weekend with $3.3 million, good for a market total of $10 million. In France, the second weekend's catch was $2.2 million, with a market total of $8.5 million.

In South Korea' a market where local-language films often dominate, "300" remained No. 1 for the third consecutive weekend with $2 million (market total: $15.2 million).

"Meet the Robinsons" opened overseas day-and-date with its domestic bow, grabbing $8.5 million from 22 territories, the weekend's No. 3 international title.

In the U.K., "Robinsons" bowed at No. 3 with $2 million. In Mexico, the film was No. 1 with $1.8 million. The opening in Spain provided a third-place finish with $1.6 million.

In the No. 4 spot overall was "Music and Lyrics," the romantic comedy starring
Hugh Grant' and Drew Barrymore' which warbled $4.2 million from 54 markets. Its international total stands at $73.5 million.

"Norbit" finished No. 5 with $4.1 million from 43 territories, lifting its overseas total to $49.3 million.


Reuters/Hollywood Reporter


Technorati Tags: Mr. Bean, mr bean, 300, bean, Robinsons,