International Box Office is Buzzing with Caffeine

October 5, 2005

Too much chocolate is bad for your health, but try telling that to the international box office. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory has topped the international box office for the fourth weekend in a row and the sixth during its run this weekend adding $10.2 million on 3,200 screens in 52 markets. Its best market of the weekend was again Japan where it finished first, again, with $3.1 million for the weekend on 360 screens and $28.7 million during its run. It was also first in Italy with $2.4 million on 282 screens for a $6.5 million running tally and in Norway with $740,000 on 92 screens, and in New Zealand with $314,000 on 80. With no more major markets, and precious little midlevel ones as well, the film is just wrapping up its international run, a run that has earned the film $219 million so far.

Coming in second place was the Spanish comedy Torrente 3: El Protector, or as it is known in English, Torrent 3: The Protector. The film shocked analysts by breaking the all-time opening record with 7.2 million Euros in ticket sales on 465 screens, which topped the 6.1 million by Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith. However, its $8.7 million in American dollars was just shy of the $9.9 million earned by Sith.

The 40-Year Old Virgin opened in a few more markets over the weekend and performed well enough to jump into third place on the overall charts with $5 million on 1482 screens in 13 markets. It's biggest opening came from Germany where it brought in $1.8 million on 543 screens but earned first place finished in both Austria with $300,000 on 79, Israel with $150,000 on 30. Other openings include less impressive results in Mexico with $475,000 on 193 screens and New Zealand with $145,000 on 46. On the holder over front, the film dropped just 27% during its fifth weekend in the U.K. earning $780,000 on 307 screens for a $12 million running tally in the market, which is more than two thirds of the film's $17.5 million international total.

Thanks to strong debuts in Italy and Brazil, Bewitched saw its international take rise to $4.8 million on 2635 screens in 43 markets. In Italy the film made $1.39 million on 294 screens while in Brazil it opened with $675,000 on 200. However, its best market in terms of raw dollars was still France with $1.5 million on 488 screens. This weekend's haul pushed its international box office to $57.1 million and it could overtake its domestic totals by as early as next weekend.

Cinderella Man slipped to fifth with $4.5 million on 3044 screens in 34 markets for an international total of just $35 million so far. The film opened in first place in Australia with $1.05 million on 293 screens, but its success there is no surprise since it is the home of the film's star, Russel Crowe. As for holdovers, it appears that the film was knocked out in the U.K. falling out of the top ten with just $188,000 on 164 screens, and the same happened in Italy with $164,000 on 81 screens.


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Filed under: International Box Office, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The 40 Year-old Virgin, Bewitched, Cinderella Man