March 29-31, 2002

Around the World Round Up
by Kenan Bresnan

Oscar box office picked up for A Beautiful Mind while vampires clouded Britain, Ice Age continued to rule the world, and E.T. went into the blunder of the week column.

Ice Age, although with few big openers, took contol of last weekend with an estimated $15.8 million from 3,554 prints in 30 countries, puting its foreign total at $56.1 million. The film enjoyed an 18% jump in Australia due to the four-day Easter holiday weekend. It also received the third-highest opening of all time and highest all time opening for a toon in South Africa with $248,000 on 71. But the family comedy fell a whopping 50% in the United Kingdom due to an incredibly crowded field including four openers and large holdovers.

In the United Kingdom Blade II reigned supreme with $3.7 million from 345 screens. Ice Age and Ali G in da House both slipped 50% and 53% respectivley while Crossroads was the surpise of the weekend with a very good $1.6 million from 373 screens. The loser of the weekend was clearly E.T. which opened with $678,841 from 313 screens. A Beautiful Mind fell by just 5% (with a 14% sceen average increase) and Gosford Park only dropped 13%.

In Australia A Beautiful Mind climbed 15% on the Easter holiday weekend. Showtime was the highest opener with an impressive $850,000 from 215 screens. Sorority Boys also had a decent opening with $319,000 on 142. Monster's Ball had a very good opening of $245,000 on 35 while E.T. had its worst opening to date with a meager $165,000 on 171.

In Japan A Beautiful Mind was the winner with a healthy $2 million from 250 screens. Monsters, Inc., which now has $215.6 million from the foreign field, took $3.8 million on its fifth week for $42.4 million in Japan. Also The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring had a good fifth week with $3.6 million for $42.3 million as its foreign cume topped $511 million.

The Oscar-winning A Beautiful Mind had great weekends elsewhere. In Germany it went up 38% for $8 million and in Spain it jumped 66% for $7.5 million. Its estimated total hit $82 million.

The new edition of E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial was most effective in Latin Ameria. In Mexico the film took $1.3 million on 309, in Argentina $280,000 on 50, and in Brazil it gathered $200,000 on 95. But European audiences felt the plague of overcrowded film industries and just the fact that not too many people so it when it originally came out. In Germany it manage a poor $500,000 on 650, in Spain it had a tepid $820,000 on 267, and in Italy it only scored $170,000 from 200 screens.

Harry Potter & the Sorcerer's Stone is gearing up for its video/DVD release also in the foreign market, which led to decreases in most countries. However in Russia the film has taken a socko $3.6 million through just its second weekend. In Japan it passed the 20 billion yen mark ($161.7 million) being only the third film to do so. It joined the two Japanese hits Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke in that field. It has $637.7 million in the bank to date.

The Time Machine continued to get decent openings around the world. In Hong Kong it made $345,000 on 28, beating homegrown Wesley's Mysterious File, We Were Soldiers, and E.T. reissue. The Guy Pearce starrer also ruled South Korea (with $343,000 on 34 screens in Seoul), Taiwan ($483,000 on 175), Greece ($185,000 on 31), and Belgium ($264,000 on 56). The Time Machine is still the leader in Spain with $3.4 million in 10 days.

Opening day and date with the U.S. National Lampoon's Van Wilder opens in Australia with only Black Knight and Queen of the Damned. Queen of the Damned and Not Another Teen Movie duke it out in Germany. Resident Evil leads the screen count in France with 400. Its followed by E.T. (398), Crossroads (350), and Kate & Leopold (158). Kate & Leopold, Sidewalks of New York, Collateral Damage, and 24 Hour Part People all debut in the already crowded U.K. market. Poor decision, I say, from the distributors.

Thanks to that poor decision I expect Damage to suffer the most damage. It may only muster out $1.2 million. Kate & Leopold may only produce about $1.4 million from the U.K. In Australia, Queen of the Damned could have the best opening, but not a good one with $700,000. In France Resident Evil could accumlate $1.9 million over the weekend. In Germany Not Another Teen Movie could gather about $2 million.

2001 DOMESTIC RELEASED FILMS

These are my predicted foreign totals for the selected films:

Showtime: $39 million

John Q.: $28 million

Blade II: $67 million

E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial: $27 million

Ice Age: $173 million

Gosford Park: $51 million

Return to Neverland: $42 million

The Time Machine: $45 million

A Beautiful Mind: $112 million

*Numbers are changed whenever a market produces unexpected numbers.