“The Simpsons Movie” dominated the international market for the second consecutive weekend, grossing an estimated $47.3 million from 6,600 screens in 75 markets and pushing its overseas box-office total to $187 million and $315.6 million worldwide.
The weekend’s top five performers were the same titles as last weekend’s, although “Transformers” supplanted “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” in the runner-up slot.
20th Century Fox International’s “Simpsons” — the first big-screen project based on the 18-year-old Fox TV franchise — opened in Mexico, Denmark, Poland and India, with Mexico providing the biggest number, an estimated $7 million from 850 screens, enough to secure a No. 1 ranking and a notch as the third-biggest animation title to open in that market. In Denmark, the opening gross was $1.4 million from 119 sites for a mighty $11,764 per-screen average.
Biggest holdover markets for Bart and company were the U.K. (No. 1 with an estimated $8.7 million from 516 spots for a cume of $49.5 million), Germany ($5.4 million from 985 sites, cume $24.9 million), Australia (No. 1 with $5.3 million from 445 screens, cume $18.9 million) and France (No. 2 with $3.8 million from 716 situations, cume $15.3 million).
No. 2 was DreamWorks/Paramount Pictures International’s “Transformers,” which drew an estimated $30 million from 6,118 screens in 53 territories. Overseas gross to date for the action title is $296 million. “Transformers” opened in five territories, including Japan, where it finished at No. 1 with an estimated $5.3 million from 616 locations.
Finishing third was Warner Bros. International’s “Phoenix,” which grossed 49 percent less than the previous weekend but nonetheless crossed the $500-million mark internationally with an estimated $25.2 million from about 9,700 screens in 59 territories.
Overseas box-office total for Harry and company stands at $509.7 million, nearly half of which comes from the U.K. ($84.4 million), Germany ($52.4 million), Japan ($43 million), France, ($41.6 million) and Australia ($27.3 million).
In the No. 4 spot is Disney/Pixar’s “Ratatouille,” which was propelled by No. 1 openings in nine markets to its biggest weekend tally yet, an estimated $24.5 million from 4,320 screens in 26 markets. The Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International release’s overseas cume is $83.3 million.
Remy the culinary rat made a gangbusters debut in France, grossing an estimated $11.4 million from 800 screens in the opening five days. Preliminary figures indicate that “Ratatouille” might well wind up as the biggest animation title ever to open in France, given that in four days it was up 1 percent above the previous record pace set by 2003’s “Finding Nemo,” which went on to record a total of $528 million overseas.
No. 5 for the weekend was Fox’s “Die Hard 4,” which punched its way to an estimated $7 million from about 4,000 screens in 39 markets, pushing its international total to $191 million. The Bruce Willis action feature opened at No. 1 in Brazil for an estimated $2.2 million from 359 locations.
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