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Rush Hour 2 blasted into the U.S and Canada with the fourth highest opening ever, but that wasn't nearly the case in the United Kingdom & Ireland. The film couldn't even beat Cats & Dogs to the top spot. Just across the English Channel another Kung Fu-style action pic opened. Only this time, it took the top spot. Yes, Jet Li had the magic in France with Kiss of the Dragon. And in Japan, once again Spirited Away beat the rookie, Jurassic Park III.

Stunning everybody, Cats & Dogs grabbed the third highest Warner Brothers (CORRECTION) opening ever in the United Kingdom, falling short to Batman & Robin and Batman Forever. The family picture fetched $5.2 million on 452 screens, including previews. Opening on more than 100 fewer screens Rush Hour 2 skidded into second place with $3.2 million on 322. On screen averages, Rush Hour 2 still loses, but definitely closes the gap by a wide margin. One studio executive blames Rush Hour 2's numbers due to low anticipation. There were fewer advertisements than Cats & Dogs and the advertising budget wasn't nearly as high, percentage wise, as in the U.S. Hopefully this will push advertisement in the other territories.

Cats & Dogs already has a good $1.9 million from South Korea, over $1.5 million in Taiwan (very impressive!), and an O.K. $2.5 million through its third lap in Germany.

In France, Kiss of the Dragon was crowned atop the box office. Partly produced in France, the Jet Li starrer snared up $1.9 million on 612, boosted by hype from co-write and producer Luc Besson. Handled by BVI in Asia, the film scored BVI's fourth-biggest opening in Malaysia with $380,000 on 40 screens. In Singapore the film took an impressive $365,000 on 42, in The Philippines it took an excellent $250,000 on 30, and in Indonesia it took a BVI local currency record with $191,000 on 42. With less impressive numbers, but good nonetheless, Dragon managed second in Hong Kong with $425,000 on 24, falling short to local rookie Fulltime Killer. And in Taiwan it was overshadowed by the apes and dinos with $250,000 on 13.

Again, Japan was the highest grossing territory from the Top 10 films. Spirited Away wouldn't remove herself from the top seat as it conjured up another huge $8 million in its third weekend, skidding just 6%, hoisting its cume to a phenomenal $56.7 million. That almost beats A.I.'s $60.8 million as the highest grossing movie of the year there. Coming in at second Jurassic Park III beat last week's Planet of the Ape's preem by 6% with $5.5 million on 276 screen, including previews. That would put the dinosaur pic at around $35 million by the end of its run. Pearl Harbor has crossed the $30 million mark there and has a foreign total of $190.5 million. It should cross the $200 million mark in at least two weeks.

Jurassic Park III stomped into Germany with a huge $5.7 million on 690 which is just 3% below The Mummy Returns. The film also saw strong debuts in The Netherlands ($620,000 on 83), Austria ($386,000 on 75), and Norway with $306,000 on 45. The pic couldn't increase on its second weekend in Spain though, slipping a very bad 45%, racking up $3.9 million in 10 days. The film also fell sharply in Taiwan, falling by 65% to $3.2 million in nine days. Totaled up, the raptors feasted on $17.8 million from 2,390 engagements in 17 markets, hoisting its foreign tally to $64.6 million

Swinging into second place over the weekend was Planet of the Apes. It took $13 million from 1,985 screens in 16 countries, doubling its total to $26 million in two weeks of international release. As expected the Tim Burton sci-fier notched a Fox record (beating Star Wars: Episode I -- The Phantom Menace) and the industry's second best ever behind Dinosaur with $3.1 million on 547. In Brazil it took a territory record, topping Independence Day's five-year honor with $1.6 million on 366. In Argentina it took Fox's third-highest debut with $1.3 million on 98 and it took Fox's second highest with $1.2 million on 86 in South Korea. In its first European tryout, the apes devoured $866,000 on 75 in Sweden, which happens to be the market's biggest bow this year. In Taiwan it trailed the second weekend of JP3 with $439,000 on 67 and took a combined $1.2 million from Colombia, Peru, and Venezuela, setting industry opening records in all three countries. Planet of the Apes did take a 37% hit in Japan (equivalent to about 50% in the United States), but has nonetheless amassed a healthy $12.5 million.

In Australia, Bridget Jones's Diary held onto the top spot with $1.5 million, dropping just 23% ($5.4 million thus far), but the big surprise is The Animal. It stole second spot with $1 million on just 190 screens, for the highest screen average after Cyberworld 3D's $20,293. Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within looks to follow the U.S. route taking a good opening weekend, but then dropping rapidly. In its second week it already dropped 58% with $2 million so far. Shrek now has the territory's highest total this year with $15.5 million. Down to Earth opened to a healthy $292,169 from 121 screens while The Ladies Man opened with a $280 screen average. It only took $17,087 from 59 screens!

Next week, Planet of the Apes takes on Australia, Chile, Ecuador, Israel, Malaysia, New Zealand, Norway, and Singapore. Australia also receives The Pledge. Bridget Jones's Diary looks to steal the top spot again in Brazil. In Germany Dr. Dolittle 2 battles The Score. And in France Jurassic Park III opens on 702 screens, followed by The Score on 349.

Expect Planet of the Apes to fall sharply in all its territories except possible Mexico. It will take the top spot in all its opening territories and could have records in South America, Australia, and New Zealand. Bridget Jones's Diary should have over $1 million in Brazil while Jurassic Park III leads Germany for a second weekend followed by Dr. Dolittle 2 with around $1.5 million and The Score with around $1.2 million. In France Jurassic Park III should have over $4 million while Kiss of the Dragon falls around 35%.

These are my predicted foreign totals for the selected films:

Pearl Harbor: $216 million

The Mummy Returns: $213 million

Lara Croft: Tomb Raider: $141 million

Swordfish: $85 million

Shrek: $259 million

Bridget Jones's Diary: $134 million

Moulin Rouge: $82 million

A.I.: Artificial Intelligence: $311 million

Cats & Dogs: $110 million

Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within: $101 million

Planet of the Apes: $210 million