NEW LINE AWARDED
GOLD RING FOR MOVIE
Copyright 2001 www.variety.com
[ December 23rd 2001 ]
Harry
Potter's international rollout has been swift
and dominant, but with The Lord of the Rings:
The Fellowship of the Ring hitting most territories
last week, the boy wizard's domination of the
overseas box office, which started five weeks
ago in Blighty, is about to end.
In the
U.K., Rings preemed unusually on a Wednesday -
day and date with the U.S. and most other territories
- to garner $3 million from 466 engagements. The
Peter Jackson epic fell just shy of Harry's opening
day take of $3.1 million on 507 but rang up a
stronger per-screen average. The New Line pic
nailed $11.5 million on its debut day in 13 territories
including Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece,
Holland and Spain. But last week still belonged
to the wee wizard of Hogwarts.
Lord
Of The Rings has bowed in all major territories
except Hong Kong, in which it opens this week,
Eastern Europe and smaller Asian territories,
which are slated for 2002. International weekly
takings of $67 million, down from $80 million
last week, boosted the movie's cume to $329 million.
Harry Potter was still working magic in Germany,
while newcomers What's the Worst That Could Happen?
and Memento failed to spark much interest. One
exhib blames negative reviews of Fox's What's
the Worst That Could Happen? for dismal showing
of $461,117 from 252 copies. BVI's Memento opened
at No. 8 with $217,267 from 60 screens. With $3,621
per screen, one exhib says the mystery drama did
well with arthouse crowds, but could have benefited
from stronger marketing.
In South
America, Harry faced a challenge from BVI's Monsters,
Inc., which set a new industry record for an animated
release in Mexico but dropped 60% in its second
week in Argentina. The country was plagued with
economic unrest that led to rioting, protest marches
and the resignation of the country's president.
Monsters has claimed $10.6 million from 1,325
houses in 20 markets since its first outing Nov.
28.
In Italy,
Harry Potter maintained the top spot despite an
onslaught from three strong newcomers: Eagle Pictures'
Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, which earned a hearty
$2,272,605 in six days on 352 screens; Medusa's
local entry The Prince and the Pirate, from B.O.
champ Leonardo Pieraccioni, which plundered a
promising $2.4 million from 350 ships; and Medusa's
Spy Game, which scored a solid $1.4 million from
140 prints.
Most
significant of the arthouse entries and most likely
to build over Christmas is Key Films' Monsoon
Wedding, from director Mira Nair, which won the
Golden Lion at the Venice fest in September. Six-day
figure on 43 screens was $144,000. In Blighty,
despite some decent reviews, The Deep End struggled
to keep its head above water, while The 51st State
showed good legs in lap two.
French
B.O. was dominated by Harry Potter, while local
laffer The Three Kings generated more than $3
million in B.O. to further boost the strong December
showing of domestic fare. Toon Atlantis: The Lost
Empire dropped 40% in its second lap in Japan
but only 21% in Germany. It flew well below the
radar on its first outing in Italy thanks to Harry
Potter.
Japan's
smash toon Spirited Away, which has garnered $224
million after 22 weeks in release in that single
territory, began its international rollout with
a launch in Hong Kong. Solid figures bettered
local pic My Life as McDull. Tepid reviews ensured
Fox's Gallic debut of Legally Blonde was less
than stellar. One scribe moaned, "Barbie and her
friends deserve better."
Fox
preemed Moulin Rouge in China but, with the full
week's figures unavailable, was able to report
just the weekend cache of $141,998 from seven
key cities. Pic's overseas cume is $109.9 million.
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