reuters
CRACKING RESULT, GROMIT. United International Pictures' Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit continued to dominate the international box office during the weekend, which otherwise was sprinkled with holdovers and a few strong openings.
Nick Park's latest instalment of the Wallace & Gromit franchise took in an estimated $26.4 million internationally, giving it a cumulative total of more than $40 million. The DreamWorks Animation/Aardman Animations production opened at number one in the U.K. with an estimated $11.3 million from 502 locations - almost 100 per cent more than Park's earlier effort, Chicken Run.
It also opened at the top spots in Germany, with an estimated $2.3 million from 680 screens, and Austria, with $225,000 from 94 sites, while holding on to its top place in France.
Jodie Foster's Flightplan landed at number one in five territories, including openings in Hong Kong and Denmark, with the Buena Vista International film grossing an estimated $2.5 million during the weekend to give it a total of $10.6 million.
CHOCOLATE' STILL SWEET
Warner Bros. Pictures' Charlie and the Chocolate Factory opened in Greece with an estimated $737,000 from 57 prints, taking its weekend gross to about $5.6 million and its international total to more than $244 million.
Pride & Prejudice opened in Belgium with an estimated $140,000 from 36 screens, taking its weekend gross to $1.4 million from 505 dates for an international total of $24.5 million from just four territories. It will open in 50 more, including Australia and Germany, on Thursday.
Serenity grossed an estimated $1.7 million from 750 locations in five territories for a total of $6 million, while The 40-Year-Old Virgin took in an estimated $4.7 million from 1,700 screens in 26 territories, giving it a total of $34 million.
Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo grossed an estimated $1.4 million from 815 screens, taking its total to $19.5 million. Openings included number one rankings in Singapore, the Philippines and South Africa.
BVI opened Goal! in Mexico, garnering an estimated $978,000, which the distributor says is 15 times higher than the opening scored by Bend It Like Beckham.
Fox opened In Her Shoes at the number one slot in Australia with an estimated $1.6 million, while The Constant Gardener - acquired by Universal for some territories - had openings in Brazil, taking $412,000 from 113 screens, and Mexico, with $190,000 from 120.
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