Around the World Roundup: 'The Interpreter' Has the International Floor
As The Interpreter opened at first place domestically, the political thriller continued to be the No. 1 movie internationally, grossing $12.6 million from 35 territories for a $25.7 million total. Its 14 new openings were strong, and holdover markets saw small drops, indicating positive word of mouth.

Playing at a modest 402 screens in Germany, The Interpreter debuted to an excellent $2.0 million and a 23 percent market share. In neighboring Austria, it grossed $234,035 at 48 playdates, just behind The Pacifier.

In Southeast Asia, The Interpreter mirrored The Bourne Identity's numbers. It bowed in first place in Hong Kong ($237,229 from 33 screens) and Singapore ($153,231 from15) and at No. 2 in South Korea behind a local title with $789,959 at 90 screens.

In Brazil, The Interpreter was second to Guess Who with a $559,743 opening from 121 screens, which was 36 percent bigger than The Bourne Identity and similar to The Bourne Supremacy. In Mexico, it logged $626,097 at 201 dates, second to The Pacifier.

Among holdovers, The Interpreter dropped just 23 percent in the United Kingdom, No. 1 for the second weekend in a row with $2.3 million from 370 screens for $6.9 million in 10 days—on pace with The Bourne Identity. It also showed second weekend strength in Australia (off 21 percent for $2.8 million in 11 days), The Netherlands (down 24 percent), Portugal (down 18) and Switzerland (down 18). In Spain, its 10-day total of $3.7 million is seven percent ahead of The Bourne Supremacy at the same point. The Interpreter still has 21 territories to go, including Japan on May 21.

The Pacifier bagged $8.6 million over the weekend, bringing its total to $31.5 million. In Mexico, the Vin Diesel comedy opened at No. 1 with $1.9 million opening, but was moderate in Italy with $850,000. Holdover tallies include Germany's $4.2 million and Australia's $7.4 million. With France, Japan, South Korea and the U.K. still ahead, The Pacifier could reach $75 million, but should come up short of its $106.5 million and counting domestic take.

Sahara uncovered two solid openings through distributor United International Pictures—Spain's $1.2 million from 209 screens and Italy's chart-topping $1.2 million from 149 screens. In non-UIP territories, the Matthew McConaughey adventure had mixed results, from a No. 1 bow in Taiwan of $584,000 at 73 screens and a nearly $2 million two-week total in Russia to less than $250,000 in Greece and Poland each.

In Japan, Constantine held on to the top spot in its second weekend, ahead of openers Shall We Dance and Hide and Seek, with a 37 percent drop to $2.3 million from 349 screens. Its $9 million total so far surpasses National Treasure by 28 percent, X-Men by 42 percent and X2: X-Men United by 32 percent. The supernatural thriller's international total climbed to $136.4 million.

Guess Who's $2.8 million weekend was powered by Brazil's No. 1 debut of $596,000 from 153 screens and a third place entry in the U.K. of $1.4 million from 350. In Mexico, the Bernie Mac-Ashton Kutcher comedy opened in fifth place with an anemic $481,000 from 275 screens, and, in Australia, it ranked eighth with a $323,000 bow. The overall stands at $5.3 million so far.

Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous's high screen counts and speedy release schedule have led to decent business. The Sandra Bullock sequel's $44.3 million total nearly matches its domestic take, and, with Italy (May 6) and Japan (May 21) ahead, it should finish above $50 million with a 60/40 international to domestic ratio—excellent for an American comedy. Its $2.9 million weekend included Greece's $208,437 debut from 44 screens—topping Miss Congeniality by 111 percent—and Argentina's poor $55,600 start at 25 screens.

Hide and Seek landed in its final market, Japan, where the Robert De Niro thriller grossed a solid $1.5 million from 279 screens, pushing its overseas total to $60.6 million.

France gave Garden State the first strong launch of its poor international run, grossing $750,000 from 109 screens. The international total is $6.1 million, way short of its $26.8 million domestic take, but Zach Braff's dramedy still has Italy (May 20), Germany (May 26) and Japan on the horizon.

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