"Eclipse" still has bite at foreign box office

LOS ANGELES  – "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse" ruled the foreign box office for a second weekend, grossing $81.1 million in 63 markets, bolstered by No. 1 openings in Britain and France.

"Shrek Forever After" followed with $56.2 million from 47 territories, opening at No. 1 in 16 of its 17 additions. "Toy Story 3" grabbed the No. 3 spot with $39.1 million.

The sci-fi action film "Predators," on the heels of its No. 3 bow in North America, took the No. 4 ranking overseas after an $18 million weekend in 22 markets. A No. 3 start in the U.K. led the way with $3.5 million led the way.

"The Karate Kid" rounded out the top-five with $12.3 million, taking its total to $42.1 million. A No. 1 Mexico bow generated $3.75 million, while a No. 3 debut in Australia provided $3.2 million.

In Britain, the "Eclipse" bow of $21 million ranked as the country's biggest of the year, and was about $2 million more than what "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" opened to late last year. France chipped in $12.4 million, also the highest opening market take of this year. Overall, "Eclipse" has earned $219 million after 12 days.

The foreign total for the fourth and presumably final title in the "Shrek" franchise stands at $210 million, with openings due this week in four markets, including Mexico and Belgium.

In Brazil, "Shrek Forever After" set a market opening record for an animation title with $7.4 million. In World Cup-crazy Spain, "Shrek" still managed $5.2 million while it drew $3.2 million in Argentina, a market opening gross record.

The early overseas total for "Toy Story 3" rose to $213.1 million from 39 territories -- a bit more than half of the international marketplace. Latin American markets have provided $110 million of the total. France opens this weekend.

Elsewhere, "The Last Airbender" earned $10 million from four countries, with Russia accounting for $8 million. A Japan opening is due this week.

Also dipping its toes offshore into four markets (Russia, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore) was new North American champ "Despicable Me." The cartoon picked up $5 million in total.

Other foreign totals include: "The A-Team," $57.8 million; "Knight and Day," $38.5 million; "Get Him to the Greek," $18.5 million; and "Grown Ups," $7.9 million.