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In a good September weekend, the international box office improved drastically from last weekend and had a good weekend for September. In the UK A.I.: Artificial Intelligence grabbed Warner Brother's second highest weekend for the year which isn't saying much since Warner Brothers has only released three major films. The Fast & the Furious sped into Australia along with Cats & Dogs. And Bridget Jones's Diary washed away any doubts forecasters had in Japan, opening at number one on a holiday weekend.

Leading the way in Australia, The Fast & the Furious continued its good openings across the world with $1,746,841 on 254 for the highest screen average in the country last weekend. It should fall about 35% next weekend. Crawling into second was Cats & Dogs. The CGI/live action kid's fest took a surprisingly good $1,461,168 on 299. With a holiday week and weekend to come, the Warner Brothers film should rake up some impressive numbers. Opening in just Melbourne and Victoria Spy Kids clocked in at the sixth spot with a so-so $213,360 on 201 screens. It should widen to about 270 next weekend as its already taken in $279,127 total, including previews. The loser by far is Disney's Atlantis: The Lost Empire that could barely reach the $500 screen average. It could only manage $117,418 from 202 screens for a total $139,826, including previews. Disney is still betting on the children's holiday, although albeit there's no chance for the cartoon in Oz. Australia was up an impressive 44.1%, but was only up 2% from last year.

In the United Kingdom, A.I.: Artificial Intelligence took some decent numbers. It evolved past Moulin Rouge, which only dipped 18%, to the top spot with $3,343,259 from 428 screens. It did take the highest screen average for the top 15 with $7,811. Expect a drop over 50% next weekend and look for it crumble out around $8 million. Kirsten Dunst's latest, crazy/beautiful, was the only other film to debut in the top 10 with a poor $200,405 from $1,471. Thanks to good holds and A.I., the UK took a good weekend.

A.I. also opened in Spain and Thailand with great numbers. In Thailand, Steven Spielberg's futuristic drama finally dethrowned Suriyothai which has had a five-week reign, garnering a perfect $259,000 on 69, outpacing Jurassic Park by 79%. The Haley Joel Osment starrer set an all-time Warner Brothers record, edging out The Matrix, in Spain with a fantastic $1.9 million on 303. It wasn't able to beat The Others, which took another $2.4 million on 295. Even Final Fantasy was able to improve its second weekend so bet on A.I. took come up with a better number next weekend. A.I. grabbed last weekend's top spot with $8.6 million from 2,645 screens in 23 markets, hoisting its cume to $114.2 million.

Acting as What Women Want, Bridget Jones's Diary catapulted its way to the second spot in Japan with an estimated $3 million in three days on 240 screens. Japan had a public holiday on Monday, which should increase its total by 10% or so. It still couldn't unseat Toho's Spirited Away, which has dropped 7% in all of 10 weeks of release. The romantic comedy overshadowed Captain Corelli's Mandolin, which whistled up a fair $860,000 on 250 in two days. Bridget already has $138 million and should surpass $160 million, by the end of its run. Corelli's has earned a nice $18.3 million in eight territories, thanks to the U.K.

The Fast & the Furious slowed its numbers in Italy, debuting at the No. 6 spot with $676,000 on 194. The teen-flick stole the top spot from Swordfish with $328,264 on 83 and a fair $209,000 on 68 in South Korea.

Cats & Dogs reached $63.3 million, spurred by Australia and New Zealand's $193,000 on 42, besting Stuart Little. Swordfish has hit a good $43.3 million, boosted by Taiwan's $877,000 on 53, beating Gladiator by 38% and X-Men by 21%, and a nice sophomore session in Belgium (tallying $587,000 to date) and the Netherlands ($647,161 to date).

Fox's Planet of the Apes ascended to a rock solid $165.8 million, helped by India's huge $429,000 on 107 (a company record) and Hungary's $187,000 on 24 (Fox's second highest after The Phantom Menace). Another Fox hit, Moulin Rouge, raked up a solid $198,581 from 44 screens in The Netherlands and $149,000 on 20 in Israel. It already has $40.3 million from just 20 markets. It will exceed the domestic tally of $56.7 by far.

The Princess Diaries penned an excellent $388,000 on 20 in The Philippines (a record for a live-action Disney pic), and fell a decent 33% in Australia, conjuring up $1.3 million in 11 days.

Next weekend, Planet of the Apes takes on Estonia while Moulin Rouge tries out in Belgium, Italy, and Norway. In France The Fast & the Furious releases on 400 screens as Heartbreakers takes a solid 306 screens. Officer's Ward, a winner in the Cannes Film Festival looks for a very good opening with 250 screens and The Pledge takes on a sizable 190 screens. The Brothers and The Score are the only domestic releases in the United Kingdom, which should leave A.I. some breathing room. Spy Kids expands to the entire country as Rush Hour 2 looks to top the market. American Pie 2 goes solo, domestically, in Germany and should beat its original's numbers.