Ryan, Dolittle boost foreign box office
1998-10-07

Nations Japan Italy Germany France Australia Singapore Mexico Netherlands Spain Colombia Israel Portugal Denmark Brazil South Africa New Zealand Switzerland Norway Sweden Philippines Belgium Hungary Greece Malaysia People Cate Blanchett Eddie Murphy Michael Douglas Robert Redford Anne Heche Jim Carrey Harrison Ford Gwyneth Paltrow Movie Saving Private Ryan City of Angels

SYDNEY - Superb bows by ``Saving Private Ryan,'' ``Dr. Dolittle'' and ``The Truman Show'' as well as classy foreign premieres by the costume drama ``Elizabeth'' highlighted another crackerjack weekend at cinemas overseas.

Rounding out the action, ``Six Days, Seven Nights'' had a fairly robust debut in Italy, ``Godzilla'' conquered the Netherlands, its final foreign destination, while ``The Mask of Zorro'' and ``A Perfect Murder'' each notched good numbers entering a handful of small markets.

The top-grossing release of this year overseas, ``Armageddon,'' moved up to $223.5 million after a $2.6 million weekend.

``Saving Private Ryan'' minted $13.3 million from 14 countries and its foreign total vaulted to $63.5 million. The World War II drama bagged $5.5 million in five days in France and $782,000 on 65 in Belgium. In French-speaking Switzerland, the $259,000 five-day take was similarly impressive.

The standouts include the U.K.'s $20 million in 24 days and Japan's $8.9 million in nine days.

``Dr. Dolittle'' amassed $7.7 million from 12 markets and its total climbed to $94.1 million, so it will reach the ton in about a week. The Eddie Murphy-headliner rang up $5.1 million in Germany and $662,000 on 99 in Austria.

``The Truman Show'' earned $9.5 million, excluding the second weekend contribution from Australia which had a public holiday Monday. The Jim Carrey starrer took a uniformly strong $526,000 in four days in Hong Kong, $322,000 in three days in Mexico and $216,000 in four days in Singapore. In Italy, it has tallied $5.2 million after its secone weekend, tracking 130% ahead of Carrey's ``Liar Liar.''

``Elizabeth,'' starring Cate Blanchett and Geoffrey Rush, courted $282,000 on 14 screens in the U.K. and $300,000 on 40 in Italy. The acid test for the Virgin Queen picture comes when it expands to 80 prints in Italy this weekend and widens to 140 in the U.K. and Ireland Oct. 23.

``Godzilla'' stomped into the Netherlands with $605,000. The big lizard garnered $7.2 million overall and its foreign total hit $208.6 million, led by Japan's $34.7 million, the U.K.'s $26.2 million, Germany's $17.3 million, France's $13.4 million, Mexico's $12.9 million and Spain's $8.8 million.

``There's Something About Mary'' hauled in $5.9 million from 12 countries, hoisting the total to $24.2 million. The Farrelly brothers' comedy landed in New Zealand with a sparkling $211,000, including previews, but seems to have lost something in the translation in Malaysia, earning a soft $108,000. ``Mary'' edged up by 4% in the U.K., collaring a huge $8.7 million in 10 days, and it has an estimated $7.4 million in Australia.

``Six Days, Seven Nights'' fetched $986,000 in Italy and a so-so $250,000 on 50 in Sweden, where it was overshadowed by ``Godzilla'' in its second lap. The foreign total for the Harrison Ford/Anne Heche romantic comedy is $68.5 million.

Robert Redford's ``The Horse Whisperer'' ($48.1 million foreign total) had a strapping second round in Germany, where it has raked in $8.8 million to date, and pranced into Spain with a reasonable $650,000.

``The Mask of Zorro'' ($15.1 million) scored a lively $224,000 in Colombia, $220,000 in Denmark, $168,000 in India and $137,000 in Hungary.

The Michael Douglas/Gwyneth Paltrow thriller ``A Perfect Murder'' slayed $311,000 in Greece, $171,000 in South Africa and a combined $412,000 from solid bows in Portugal, Israel and Norway.

``Lethal Weapon 4'' peaked at $132.6 million overseas after a $3 million weekend in 34 markets, and ``City of Angels'' levitated to $91.7 million, powered chiefly by Japan where the kitty stands at $12 million through the fourth weekend.

``Snake Eyes'' opened in Australia with a middling $565,000 but was more potent in the Philippines with $296,000 and in Brazil at $1.5 million in 11 days.

``Mulan'' ($45.5 million) tumbled by 39% in its second outing in Japan for a disappointing $2.4 million thus far.

``Lost in Space'' ($46.8 million) eased by 21% in Germany for a fair $4.1 million in 11 days.

``The Avengers'' limped into Japan with $257,000 in two days; the foreign total is a blah $25.2 million from 22 markets.

Last but not least, ``Titanic'' cruised on to $1.214 billion, still earning money in Japan ($191 million) and India ($10.8 million). [Reuters/Variety