Foreign Box Office Report: Record Summer Box Office Looms as 'The Smurfs' Takes No. 1 Spot AgainWhat looks certain to be a record box office summer on the foreign theatrical circuit for the big Hollywood studios ended over the Labor Day weekend with The Smurfs narrowly taking the No. 1 spot with $23.3 million drawn from 8,360 screens in 71 overseas markets.


Although final numbers won’t be in until later this week, extraordinarily strong offshore returns from May through Labor Day for several mega-hits indicate a new seasonal high for the big six majors. Fueling the action were several factors including a weak dollar (good for film exporters), continued foreign enthusiasm for 3D formats and for animation sequels.

“Without having the numbers in front of me, I feel that (a record summer) has got to be the case given the scale at which some of these (seasonal releases) have come in (at the box office),” said Paul Hanneman, co-president of Fox Theatrical International.

Warner Bros.’ Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 has drawn foreign box office of $937 million, two-and-half times its U.S. and Canada gross. Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides registered $800.9 million, a full three-and-a-third times more than its domestic tally. Paramount’s foreign box office record holder, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, has delivered $762.2 million, more than double its domestic return.

(The biggest hit on the foreign circuit in summer 2010 was Pixar/Disney’s Toy Story 3, which grossed $606.1 million offshore during the season.) For its part, Sony Animation’s The Smurfs had collected a total gross of nearly $300 million ($295.8 million) offshore, nearly two-and-a-half times its domestic cume. Weekend action for the live action-computer generated animation title included No. 1 openings in the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Malaysia, Sweden, Kuwait and Finland. The 3D animation finished No. 1 at the overseas box office for the fourth consecutive stanza.

Finishing No. 2 once again was 20th Century Fox’s Rise of the Planet of the Apes, which grossed $19.35 million from 5,973 situations in 52 markets, and lifting its market cume to $186.5 million (versus $160 million in the U.S. and Canada). No. 1 debuts in five Latin American markets were led by Mexico ($5.2 million from 1,403 venues).

No. 3 was Warner Bros./New Line’s Final Destination 5, the latest in the 11-year old horror series, which tallied $18.7 million derived from some 4,300 screens in 35 territories, for an overseas gross total of $58.3 million. A No. 1 France premier delivered $4.7 million from 361 screens.

Fourth was Paramount’s Cowboys & Aliens, the sci-fi-western with Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford, which collected $9 million from 4,518 locations in 46 markets, lifting the total foreign gross to $50 million. A No. 1 Spain debut came up with $2.1 million from 376 sites. Fifth was Warner’s Horrible Bosses, which generated $8.1 million from more than 2,600 screens in 52 markets for an overseas cume of $68.7 million.

Maintaining No. 1 status in the U.K. is Entertainment Films’ teen comedy The Inbetweeners Movie, which generated an estimated $6.5 million in its third round at some 490 locations for a market cume of $56 million. Also coming in at $6.5 million on the weekend was Pixar/Disney’s Cars 2, which played in 53 territories, and pushed its foreign cume to $351.7 million (versus $188.6 million domestic).

Warner’s Green Lantern has generated nearly $100 million in overseas box office ($98.2 million) after a $5.7 million weekend at some 3,000 situations in 40 markets. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 bagged another $5.5 million derived from 4,100 screens.

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