'Truman,' 'Ryan' boost foreign box office
1998-09-29

Category Testosterone Nations Japan Australia Italy Spain Germany France Singapore Denmark Mexico South Korea Israel Portugal Argentina Brazil Finland South Africa Russia Norway Sweden Netherlands Malaysia Thailand People Chris Tucker Robert Redford Jim Carrey Jackie Chan Movie Saving Private Ryan City of Angels

SYDNEY- The buoyant fall season abroad went up a couple of notches last weekend as ``The Truman Show'' had high-rating foreign premieres, ``Saving Private Ryan'' conquered Japan and ``Godzilla'' closed in on $200 million.

Elsewhere, ``There's Something About Mary'' captivated Britain, ``Rush Hour'' stormed through Asia and ``The Horse Whisperer'' was a crowd-pleaser in Germany.

In the testosterone stakes, ``Lethal Weapon 4'' cruised past its $125 million North American total to $128.2 million overseas, while ``Armageddon'' surged to $218.3 million.

``The Truman Show'' snared $1.94 million in three days in Italy and $1.89 million in four days in Australia; in the latter, the film marked the fourth-highest opener this year after ``Deep Impact,'' ``Armageddon'' and ``Dr. Dolittle.''

In both markets, the allegorical picture succeeded in drawing Jim Carrey's hardcore fans as well as upmarket audiences who usually are attracted to director Peter Weir's films.

``Saving Private Ryan'' marshaled $10.8 million from 12 overseas territories, elevating the foreign total to $39.8 million. The World War II drama pulled in $3.4 million in two days in Japan and $240,000 in Finland. It has fetched $16 million after 17 days in the U.K., $3.8 million in 10 days in Spain, $1.8 million after 11 days in Hong Kong and $1.3 million after ditto in the Netherlands.

``Godzilla'' climbed to $198.5 million overseas after devouring $11.8 million from 32 markets. The big lizard opened in Sweden with $834,000 and Portugal with $280,500. It held relatively well in its second laps in France for $10.6 million (down 36%) and in Italy at $6.9 million (sliding 33%).

``There's Something About Mary'' zipped up a $6 million weekend in 10 markets, pushing the foreign total to $14.7 million. Australia accounted for $6.1 million of the total and Brazil $1.9 million. The comedy bowed in the U.K. with $3.4 million, not a record-breaker but ahead of like-minded comedies ``Dumb and Dumber'' and ``Ace Ventura.'' The Farrelly brothers' film grossed a merry $431,000 in Argentina, a pretty good $360,000 in South Korea and a fine $272,000 in Norway.

The Jackie Chan/Chris Tucker caper ``Rush Hour'' minted a uniformly beefy $691,000 in two days in Taiwan, $520,000 in four days in Singapore, $393,000 in three days in Thailand and $308,000 in six days in Malaysia.

``Lost in Space'' beamed into Germany and Austria with a lively $1.9 million, and its foreign total hit $44.4 million. The U.K. is the standout at $17.3 million, followed by Australia's $6 million, Spain's $3.2 million and South Korea's $2.7 million.

After barely reaching a canter in Asia, ``The Horse Whisperer'' is earning its spurs in Europe. Robert Redford's romantic drama coined a strapping $3.5 million in Germany (the industry's fourth-highest launch this year behind ``Armageddon,'' ``Godzilla'' and the latest ``Lethal Weapon''), a moderate $237,000 in Austria and $135,000 in Denmark.

In all, ``The Horse Whisperer'' corralled $6.5 million in 29 markets at the weekend, and advanced to $37.8 million, led by France's $9.8 million and Australia's $5.7 million.

``Mulan'' delivered a fairly promising $1 million in Japan, 25% up on ``Pocahontas''' entry and 75% better than ``Hercules,'' neither of which was big there. The foreign total is $43.5 million ahead of its Oct. 16 bow in the U.K. and its November rollout in the rest of Europe.

``The Mask of Zorro'' raked in $1.9 million from holdovers and fair debuts in South Africa and Israel; the foreign total is $12 million from 13 countries, including a dashing $3.3 million after its second turn in Mexico.

``Dr. Dolittle'' climbed to $84.6 million overseas, and clocked an OK $178,000 in Denmark and $174,000 in New Zealand. Italy has contributed a terrific $5.3 million and Spain $4.9 million.

``The Avengers'' had respectable bows in Spain ($825,000) and Mexico ($349,000) and its foreign total topped $23 million from 21 markets.

``Lethal Weapon 4'' nabbed $4.1 million in 34 countries and fell by an acceptable 29% in the U.K., amassing $6.8 million in 10 days, and by 36% in its third in Australia, tallying $4.4 million.

``City of Angels'' ascended to $87.5 million, paced by Japan's stellar $9.2 million and Italy's $2.5 million. ``Species 2'' took an underwhelming $327,000 in five days in Japan, consistent with its dismal foreign campaign which has yielded $14.3 million to date.

``The X-Files'' movie moved up to $68.3 million from holdovers and decent debuts in five markets including Hong Kong and Russia; it's yet to unspool in France and Japan.

[Reuters/Variety]