New "Twilight" sequel trails previous film overseas

LOS ANGELES  - It was all about Bella, Edward and Jacob at the foreign box office during the weekend as "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse" opened at No. 1 with $104.6 million drawn from 42 territories over five days.

Although it opened strongly, the threequel did not eclipse the opening weekend of its immediate franchise predecessor, "The Twilight Saga: New Moon," which premiered to $121.6 million in 24 markets late last November. "New Moon" wound up with $416 million internationally.

The new installment earned $15 million in Russia, $11 million in Australia, $10.5 million in Spain, $9.9 million in Italy, and $8.5 million in Mexico. The threequel opens this week in 22 markets, including the U.K., France and South Korea. A Germany introduction follows next week.

"Eclipse's" sizable foreign debut is another unmistakable indication that 2010 is -- despite World Cup distractions and a stronger dollar -- shaping up as a torrid box office year overseas.

January-through-June sales for the six Hollywood majors -- 20th Century Fox, Disney, Warner Bros., Paramount, Universal and Sony -- totaled $6.38 billion, up 43% from 2009's first half. If foreign box office keeps up at anywhere near this pace in the second half, 2010 should easily wind up being the fifth record box office year in a row for the big studios, surpassing last year's $10.7 billion.

"Shrek Forever After" followed at No. 2 with $42.6 million from 25 markets, taking its total to $137 million. Leading the nine fresh markets were the U.K. ($13.5 million), France ($11.7 million) and South Korea ($6.3 million).

Third on the weekend was "Toy Story 3," with $25.5 million from 34 territories. Latin American markets have provided $89.3 million of the film's $150.8 million foreign total. Mexico alone has kicked in $44.7 million.

"Knight and Day" was No. 4 with a $7.8 million weekend in 25 markets; the overseas total stands at $24.7 million. South Korea was the film's leading territory, providing a No. 2 second-round ranking with $2.6 million; the local total rose to $8.1 million.

"The Karate Kid" came in at No. 5 with $3.9 million from 26 markets, mostly in Asia and South America; the total stands at $31.9 million.