Around-the-World Roundup: 'Robin Hood' Holds Onto Top Spot
Despite falling 60 percent over the weekend, Robin Hood defended the foreign top spot from newcomers Shrek Forever After and Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, though each had somewhat limited debuts. Iron Man 2 also plummeted but reached a significant milestone, while How to Train Your Dragon saw gains from a huge opening in South Korea, Alice in Wonderland marched towards the $1 billion mark worldwide, and Warner Bros. International became the second studio of the year to cross $1 billion overseas.

Robin Hood's decline may seem steep, but it can be attributed in part to a lack of significant new territory openings. In 56 countries, the Ridley Scott-Russell Crowe medieval epic made $30.1 million to bring its international total to $125.4 million. It managed to hold the number one spot in Australia ($3.1 million), France ($2.6 million) and Mexico ($1.9 million). Worldwide, Robin Hood has grossed just over $192 million and is on track to pass $200 million early this week.

Shrek Forever After launched in nine territories, raking in $25.8 million from 1,664 locations. This included a massive $19.4 million debut in Russia, which is Russia's second-highest opening weekend ever behind Avatar's $19.7 million start. The ogre expands in to another six countries next weekend, though it won't be premiering in the major Western European markets (United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain, etc.) until June.

A week ahead of its domestic debut, Prince of Persia: Sands of Time opened in first place in 18 of its 19 international territories, grossing $18 million. This included $3 million in Spain, $2.8 million in Germany, $2.8 million in Italy, $2.1 million in the U.K. (the only territory it didn't finish in first), and $1 million in Greece. Prince of Persia expands in to France, Australia, South Korea, Russia, China, Japan and Mexico (among other smaller territories) on Friday.

In its fourth weekend, Iron Man 2 continued its rapid decline, off over 50 percent again. Reported grosses amount to $13.4 million, though numbers from Germany are not yet available. Despite the speedy decrease, Iron Man 2 did manage to pass Iron Man's $266.7 million foreign tally, finishing the weekend with approximately $269 million. That puts Iron Man 2's worldwide haul at $522 million.

How to Train Your Dragon shot up 43 percent to $10.97 million from 53 territories. This gain can be entirely attributed to its massive $7.2 million opening in South Korea, which was the country's second highest-grossing opening ever for an animated movie behind Shrek the Third ($10.7 million). Through its ninth weekend, Dragon has grossed $235.3 million overseas for a worldwide total of $446.5 million.

Alice in Wonderland was down 26 percent to $7.9 million. According to distributor Walt Disney Pictures, around 90 percent of the weekend gross came from Japan, Brazil and Chile. Its $664.4 million overseas total ranks fifth on the all-time list. With its domestic grosses added in, Alice has made an astounding $996.7 million worldwide, and should pass the $1 billion mark by mid-week.

Speaking of the $1 billion mark, Warner Bros. Pictures International crossed that threshold over the weekend in record time for the studio. 20th Century Fox was actually the fastest studio to reach this milestone this year, though, thanks to Avatar's record-breaking haul. Warner Bros. has had a number of international hits so far this year, including Clash of the Titans ($313 million) and Sherlock Holmes ($262 million of its $314 million total).

"This benchmark speaks to the strength and diversity of the line-up and our incredible team's contributions, here and around the world," said Veronika Kwan-Rubinek, President of International Distribution for Warner Bros in their press release. "2010 promises to be an extraordinary year internationally for exhibition and distribution alike. With so much great product to come, as well as strong admissions growth fuelled by the ongoing expansion of 3D offerings and venues, it's an exciting time for our business."

What makes this feat all the more impressive is that Warner Bros. biggest movies are arguably yet to come, with Sex and the City 2, Inception, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Part One in 3D) and more on the way before the end of the year.

Related Chart:

• All-Time Worldwide



Domestic Weekend Report:

'Shrek' Shrinks with Fourth Movie


Last Weekend's Around-the-World Roundup:

'Robin Hood' Gets Rich in Debut