Wrath of the Titans maintains hold on foreign box office

PanARMENIAN.Net - Despite worldwide publicity on behalf of the retrofitted Titanic, Warner Bros.’ Wrath of the Titans handily maintained its hold on the foreign theatrical circuit’s No. 1 box office spot over Easter weekend, generating $43 million at 13,540 sites in 60 offshore markets, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The 3D action fantasy costarring Sam Worthington, Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes experienced a 43% drop - which Warner’s deemed “very good” - from its No. 1 opening weekend take last round. Total foreign box office over two rounds for the special-effects-laden improvisation on Greek mythology comes to $152.5 million – almost half the total foreign gross obtained by the film’s 2010 predecessor, Clash of the Titans.

The second biggest hit ever overseas returned at No. 2 on the weekend as 1997’s Titanic grossed $35.5 million at 5,579 venues in 84 countries comprising 53 markets. No. 1 rankings were achieved in at least five markets including the U.K. ($4.36 million at 616 sites), Germany ($3.47 million including previews at 485 spots) and Italy (3 million from 340 situations).

Titanic in 3D opened No. 2 in France ($3.35 million at 358 locations) and No. 4 in South Korea ($1.56 million from 269 locations). Its No. 5 Australia bow produced $1.9 million from 209 spots. Foreign gross total (including the James Cameron blockbuster‘s original run) now stands at about $1.29 billion, second all time behind Cameron’s 2009 smash Avatar ($2.031 billion).

Dropping from No. 2 last round to No. 3 on the weekend was Lionsgate’s The Hunger Games, which collected $25.5 million from some 6,600 locations in 60 markets, down 27%. Overseas action continues to lag substantially behind the torrid domestic pace set by the action/sci-fi vehicle starring Jennifer Lawrence. Foreign gross total stands at $157.1 million versus the film’s domestic take of $302.8 million.

American Pie: Reunion (American Reunion in the U.S. and Canada) premiered offshore in 28 territories for an estimated tally of $19.3 million drawn from 2,388 locations. It ranks No. 4 on the weekend.

The weekend’s No. 5 title, Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax, elicited $11.8 million from some 4,000 situations in 49 territories, lifting its international gross total to $59 million. Universal’s 3-D animation adapted from the classic children’s book opened in seven markets including Hong Kong where it played just 34 venues, and drew $386,000 for a per-site average of nearly $11,500.