With an estimated
weekend gross of $39 million from about 7,600 screens in 61
overseas markets, "Iron Man" bested newcomers "What Happens in
Vegas" and "Speed Racer" to retain its No. 1 rank on the
international circuit.
But second-frame results for the Marvel superhero
represented a nearly 60 percent drop from the high-flying tally
($95.5 million) recorded in its opening surge. It beat its top
two competitors by unexpectedly narrow margins, landing $16
million ahead of 20th Century Fox's "Vegas" and $26.2 million
over Warner Bros.' "Speed Racer," which got off to a
surprisingly slow start.
"Iron Man" distributor Paramount Pictures International,
among other overseas distributors, cited hot weather across
Europe -- with temperatures climbing above 85 degrees in the
U.K. -- as a general box-office depressant. In the U.K., "Iron
Man" dipped 58 percent from its opening session, while in
Germany, it deflated by 70 percent from its debut frame.
Nonetheless, "Iron Man" matched its No. 1 rank domestically
and notched an international gross of $165 million, bringing
its worldwide total to $342.1 million.
No. 2 during the weekend was "Vegas," a romantic comedy
pairing Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher that drew an estimated
$23 million from 3,902 screens in 36 markets. Fox declared this
"a great start for the film internationally," citing No. 1
finishes in Scandinavia, the Benelux countries, Germany and
Austria. Its early worldwide gross stands at $43 million.
"Speed Racer," which opened weakly almost across the board,
nabbed an estimated $12.8 million from 3,940 sites -- a pallid
$3,249 per-screen average -- in 30 territories. The first film
written and directed by the Wachowski brothers since the
"Matrix" trilogy, "Speed Racer" premiered No. 1 in Korea with
$2.4 million from 229 sites. Its global total is $33 million.
At No. 4 was Sony's romantic comedy "Made of Honor," which
married $3.5 million from 1,320 sites in 19 markets for a
cumulative overseas gross of $12.7 million, landing at $39
million worldwide. Finishing fifth was "21," also from Sony, at
$2.3 million from 1,350 situations in 39 markets, for a total
gross of $41.3 million.
Other weekend tallies: Universal's "Forgetting Sarah
Marshall" nabbed $1.7 million from 944 sites in nine
territories for a cumulative take of $19.8 million; Fox's "Dr.
Seuss' Horton Hears A Who!" earned $1.5 million from 2,500
situations in 28 markets for $135.7 million to date; and Fox's
cop drama "Street Kings" arrested $1.2 million from 1,500
screens in 42 territories, bringing its cumulative revenue to
$27.6 million.
Reuters/Hollywood Reporter
In Theaters 
