User blog:Ceauntay/Foreign Box Office: 'Heroes' Conjures $500 Million Worldwide

="The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1" stays at No. 2; "Puss In Boots" finishes No. 2; Hollywood majors eye 2011 foreign box office record.= While expanding 50 percent more than last week, Warner Bros. Int'l.'s Heroes: A New Beginning still managedto remain No. 1 on the foreign theatrical circuit this round, flying an estimated $203 million from some 9,000 screens in 80 territories, for a foreign cume to $314 million, where it has now past the half billion dollar mark globally with a total of $516 million.

Nonetheless, 'Heroes'' provided a spark to an otherwise lethargic box office round internationally. It opened No. 1 in South Korea, logging an estimated $3.2 millon from some 620 sites ($4.27 including previews). Robust market cumes so far include the U.K. ($43.4 million), Russia ($30.8 million), France ($26 million) and Australia ($24.7 million).

The weekend’s less-than-stellar box office overall did not diminish strong numbers in 2011 to date logged by the Hollywood studios.

Calendar year gross estimates to date indicate that with nearly a month left – and several holiday films still to open offshore – the six major studios are rushing towards a new foreign box office record in 2011.

Through Nov. 30, the “big six” amassed combined international box office of $12.539 billion, just $161 million shy of the 2010’s record $12.7 million benchmark, according to studio figures.

Paramount International leads the pack in the 11-month overseas gross sweepstakes with estimated total box office of $2.871 billion, followed by Warner Brothers International with $2.600 billion, matching the unit’s comparable 2010 total.

Then, Disney ($2.168.billion), 20th Century Fox ($2.022 billion, down 23% from 2010), Sony ($1.677 billion) and Universal ($1.201 billion, up 9% from last year).

Broadening its foreign run by openings in 13 new territories, DreamWorks Animation’s Puss In Boots elevated its weekend gross to $23 million derived from a total of 2,740 venues in 26 markets. It finished No. 2 on the weekend. Cume for the 3D animation spinoff of Shrek stands at $89. 2 million. (Paramount is handling offshore distribution.)

At No. 2 is Summit Int'l's. ''The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn -- Part 1" with $40.2 million, bringing its foreign cume to to $341 million (worldwide, $588.3 million).

Biggest of the new markets was France, where Puss opened No. 2 with $8.1 drawn from 671 situations. A No. 1 Mexico opening generated $3.8 million from 526 locations while the second round in Spain contributed $3.1 million from 383 sites. In Russia, the market cume has topped $50 million. Puss opens in 16 markets this week including the U.K., Germany, Australia, New Zealand, Belgium, Brazil and Venezuela.

Third on the weekend was Warner Bros.’ release of Happy Feet Two, Village Roadshow’s family-oriented animation sequel about an amiable penguin. Weekend take registered $16.3 million derived from some 7,000 screens in 40 territories, raising the foreign cume to $34 million.

A No. 3 opening in the U.K. generated $2.6 million from 491 sites. A Russia bow generated $3.6 million from 926 sites while a No. 3 Germany debut kicked in $1.2 million from 690 sites. Happy Feet Two opens in France on Wednesday (Dec. 7).

France’s comedy sensation, Intouchables, continues its torrid pace in the market, holding the No. 1 spot for the fifth consecutive weekend with an estimated tally of $11.9 million from some 720 screens, down a mere 17% from its prior round. It ranks No. 4 overall on the weekend.

The Gaumont release about the prickly relationship between a wealthy quadriplegic (Francois Cluzet) and his caretaker (Omar Sy) has grossed a total of $92.8 million in France alone, and is expected to cross the $100 million mark there by next weekend.

No. 5 was Sony Animation’s Arthur Christmas opened in at least a dozen new markets, generating $11.4 million on the weekend overall from 5,720 situations in 52 markets. Top market tally was generated in the U.K. where the seasonal family title ranked No. 2 in its fourth stanza, raising $2.9 million from 815 sites for a market cume of $18.2 million.

Logging a $4 million Japan opening via Toho, Sony/Paramount’s The Adventures of Tintin:The Secret of the Unicorn looks to finished the weekend with $10.6 million overall drawn from 10,833 sites in 54 markets. Steven Spielberg’s stop motion animation in 3D, which won’t open in the U.S. until Dec. 21, has grossed a total of $221.6 million since it opened offshore on Oct. 26.

20th Century Fox’s release of In Time, New Regency’s sci-fi thriller costarring Justin Timberlake and Amanda Seyfried had a No. 2 opening in Germany, drawing $2.7 million from 414 sites. Weekend overall generated $9.59 million from 3,680 situations in 45 territories, pushing the film’s foreign cume to $82.6 million.

Disney’s Real Steel, now in its ninth round of offshore release, lifted its foreign gross total to $176.4 million thanks to a $5.3 million weekend from playdates in 51 territories. A Japan opening looms this week for the Hugh Jackman sci-fi vehicle.

With 10 territories still to open, including Mexico this week, Universal’s Tower Heist has snared a foreign gross total so far of $42.5 million. Weekend for the crime caper costarring Ben Stiller and Eddie Murphy drew $4 million from some 2,500 playdates in 45 markets.

Premiering No. 1 in Italy via Medusa Film was Woody Allen’s comedy Midnight In Paris. Opening round at some 400 screens drew an estimated $2.8 million.

Opening No.3 in France was Gaumont’s release of Les Lyonnais (A Gang Story), a French gangster saga based on the autobiography of a famous 1970’s bank robber. Directed by cop turned cineaste Olivier Marchal, the action drama drew and estimated $3 million from 425 screens.

In Spain, Universal released Fuga De Cerebros 2 (Brain Drain 2), Antenna 3 Films’ sequel to its 2009 romantic comedy about a dim-witted high schooler’s crush on the brightest girl in the class. The Spanish-language title opened No. 3 in the market, grossing $2.3 million from 345 situations, the second biggest opening of a local language film in Spain this year.

Universal also opened Morgan Creek’s remake of The Thing in the U.K. where is finished No. 6 in the markets, grossing $760,000 at 304 situations. Universal’s cume for the horror film update stands at $7.7 million. (The studio is handling distribution in 28 overseas territories on Morgan Creek’s behalf.)

Other international cumes: Disney’s The Muppets, $4 million (from three markets); Universal’s A Dangerous Method, $4.8 million; Fox’s Rise of the Planet of the Apes, $306.1 million; Universal’s Johnny English Reborn, $152.5 million; DreamWorks/Disney’s The Help, $31.5 million; Fox’s You Are The Apple Of My Eye, $24.1 million; and Disney’s The Lion King 3D, $68.8 million.