"Battleship" sails to No. 2 while "The Hunger Games" sinks to fourth place; "The Cabin in the Woods" opens a smart No. 3 in the U.K.

Thanks to its humongous opening in China, Titanic 3D proved the foreign theatrical circuit’s unsinkable No. 1 box office champ on the weekend, grossing $88.2 million from 9,889 venues in 69 overseas territories covering more than 100 countries.

The debut tally in China – $58 million drawn from 3,500 sites – accounted for the lion’s share of the total weekend take, and is distributor 20th Century Fox’s biggest opening gross in the market ever. Fox said the retrofitted film’s six-day China bow is 32% more than the totalmarket gross (a then record $44 million) of the original Titanic in China in 1998.

Titanic 3D, now in its second round of foreign release, also chalked up solid numbers in Russia ($2.75 million at 972 sites for a market cume of $10 million) and in Europe.  A No. 2 second weekend in the U.K. drew $2.9 million from 508 locations for a cume of $12.8 million. Italy contributed $2.7 million at 389 sites for a cume of 8.4 million while France provided $2.6 million from 362 spots for a cume of $7.9 million. Germany came in with $2.2 million from 497 locations for a market cume of $7.4 million.

IMAX said the six-day China premier accounts for $6 million on 64 IMAX screens, for a nearly $94,000 per-site average. The film has grossed $13.6 million from IMAX sites globally over 12 days.

The foreign gross total for Titanic 3D stands at $146.4 million over two rounds – which, when combined with the original’s overseas run, puts the offshore total tally at $1.4 billion. (Foreign box office record is held by director James Cameron’s 2009’s blockbuster Avatar, which grossed $2.031 billion.) Worldwide, Titanic has pushed past the $2 billion mark.

Opening at just about half the total Titanic 3D playdates was Universal’s Battleship, director Peter Berg’s sci-fi/action title based on a Hasbro naval combat game about sea warfare with an alien armada.  Debut weekend take from 26 offshore markets came to $58 million collected from 4,950 situations. The film ranks No. 2 on the weekend.

Costarring Alexander Skarsgard, Brooklyn Decker and Liam Neeson, Battleship took the No. 1 spot in 20 territories, setting Universal opening records in Korea ($8 million from 250 sites), Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. A first place finish in the U.K. provided $6.1 million from 496 situations while the No. 1 Germany finish provided $5 million from 632 situations.

Taking into account various sporting and cultural events plus the competitive calendar, Universal decided to debut Battleship overseas a month before its May 18 opening in the U.S. and Canada. The film has 38 territories yet to play including Russia and China this week and Latin American in May.

Also opening on the foreign circuit on the weekend was Lionsgate’s The Cabin In The Woods , directed by Drew Goddard and written by Joss Whedon.  Playing at some 800 situations in four markets, the horror title grossed an estimated $3.4 million on the weekend with a No. 3 bow in the U.K. providing $2.5 million at 412 screens.

Third on the weekend was Warner Bros.’ Wrath of the Titans, the foreign circuit’s box office champ for the prior two weekends. This time the 3D action fantasy costarring Sam Worthington, Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes grossed $16 million from some 9,000 screens in 63 markets.  Overseas cume stands at $188 million with a Japan opening on tap this week.

No. 4 was Lionsgate’s The Hunger Games, which pushed its foreign gross total to $194 million – as opposed to its much larger $337 million domestic take -- thanks to a $15 million weekend playing at 5,200 sites in 67 territories.

Fifth on the weekend was Universal’s American Pie: Reunion, which is handily out-grossing overseas all previous titles in the American Pie comedy franchise. Weekend take was $11.8 million from 2,641 sites in 34 territories for a foreign gross cume of $40.8 million. Openings in Brazil, Chile and Colombia are due this week.

Universal’s 3D animation title, Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax, elevated its foreign gross total to $74.3 million – with playdates in 16 key markets still to be digested – after a $8.6 million weekend at 3,753 situations in 51 territories.

Sony Animation/Aardman’s family-oriented animation title in 3D, The Pirates! Band of Misfits, opened in Venezuela and held nicely in the U.K. (No. 4 with $2.5 million drawn from 8990 sites for a market cume of $20.7 million). Weekend overall delivered $8.4 million from 4,200 venues in 34 markets. Overseas cume stands at $44.4 million.

Holdling tightly to France’s No. 1 position was Pathe’s Houba! Sur la piste du marsupilami (Houba! On The Trail Of The Marsupilami), which collected an estimated $8.2 million in its second round at 805 screens, down just 15% from its No. 1 market opening. France cume for the live/action/animation adventure created by Alain Chabet comes to $21.8 million.

Sony’s 21 Jump Street, a feature version of the old tv series, connected with $4 million on the weekend at 1,130 screens in 19 territories, lifting its foreign cume to $34 million. Fox International’s The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, costarring Judi Dench and Maggie Smith, hoisted its foreign cume to $60.9 million after a $3.8 million weekend at 1,456 screens in 26 markets. The film’s domestic bow is due May 4.

Other international cumes:  Disney’s John Carter, $200.6 million (the second 2012 release to cross $200 million offshore); Warner’s Journey 2: The Mysterious Island, $220 million; DreamWorks Animation/Paramount’s Puss In Boots, $404 million; Fox’s Chronicle, $57.6 million; Hugo, $77.2 million from Paramount-handled territories only; Star Wars: Episode 1 in 3D, $59.8 million; Paramount’s The Devil Inside, $47.8 million; and Fox’s This Means War, $88.8 million.

Source:hollywoodreporter.com