International Top Five - Sweet Smell of Success
September 27, 2006
The German film, Perfume: The Story of a Murderer, was the surprise winner at the international box office, taking in $10.79 million on 1,600 screens in 6 markets for a total of $31.62 million.
Its best market remained Germany where it was down just 32% to $6.72 million on 773 screens; that was half the total box office in Germany, more than four times its nearest competition, and enough to lift its running tally in the market to $20.22 million.
The film also managed to top $1 million during its second weekend in Russia (first place with $1.59 million on 310 screens for a $6.43 million total), and in its debut in Italy (third place with $1.05 million on 335).
The film opens in France next weekend, in Spain at the end of November and in the U.K. at the beginning of December.
One must assume the studio is happy with its run so far.
However, with a production budget of 50 million Euros (about $65 million American), it is the most expensive German film ever and will need a strong run in several non-German speaking markets to show a profit.
A steeper than expected drop-off in Italy left Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest in second place with $7.36 million on 3,437 screens in 36 markets for an international total of $625.35 million.
In that market it was down 57% to $4.15 million on 845 screens for a two-week total of $19.12 million.
Worldwide the film is now in third place all-time with $1,045.25 million, but with no major releases left that is as high up the charts as it will go.
Marrying the Mafia 3 opened in first place in South Korea, and third overall, with $6.37 million on 500 screens over the weekend and $7.99 million in total.
This is the second week in a row that a South Korean film has opened well enough in its native market to score a spot on the top five.
World Trade Center had its first major push into the international market and scored fourth place with $6.23 million on 1,135 screens in 10 markets for a very early international total of $8.25 million.
In France, the film finished first with $2.6 million on 418 screens while it also topped Belgium with $437,000 on 44 screens over the weekend and $602,000 in total.
On the other hand, the film had to settle for second place in Holland, but its $343,000 on 50 screens was still a strong start.
As for holdovers, the film had the worst week-to-week drop-off in the top ten in Mexico, down 39%, but it was still able to finish second with $812,000 on 248 screens over the weekend and $2.83 million in total.
It was a milestone weekend for Cars as it became the sixth film released in 2006 to rech $200 million internationally, and the fifth in a row for Pixar to accomplish that.
The film added $5.55 million over the weekend on 3,122 screens in 24 markets to take its total box office to $200.06 million.
Its best market continues to be Germany with $1.49 million on 814 screens, but its total of $8.49 million after three weeks of release is still well below expectations.
With no new markets left to open in, the film will quickly slide down the chart as it starts shedding screens and markets at an accelerated pace, and while it didn't live up to expectations, it has still performed very well at the worldwide box office, having covered its combined budget long, long ago.
Filed under: International Box Office, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, Cars, World Trade Center, Perfume: The Story of a Murderer