April 9, 2012 - 16:39 AMT
Wrath of the Titans maintains hold on foreign box office

Despite worldwide publicity on behalf of the retrofitted Titanic, Warner Bros.’ Wrath of the Titans handily maintained its hold on the foreign theatrical circuit’s No. 1 box office spot over Easter weekend, generating $43 million at 13,540 sites in 60 offshore markets, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The 3D action fantasy costarring Sam Worthington, Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes experienced a 43% drop - which Warner’s deemed “very good” - from its No. 1 opening weekend take last round. Total foreign box office over two rounds for the special-effects-laden improvisation on Greek mythology comes to $152.5 million – almost half the total foreign gross obtained by the film’s 2010 predecessor, Clash of the Titans.

The second biggest hit ever overseas returned at No. 2 on the weekend as 1997’s Titanic grossed $35.5 million at 5,579 venues in 84 countries comprising 53 markets. No. 1 rankings were achieved in at least five markets including the U.K. ($4.36 million at 616 sites), Germany ($3.47 million including previews at 485 spots) and Italy (3 million from 340 situations).

Titanic in 3D opened No. 2 in France ($3.35 million at 358 locations) and No. 4 in South Korea ($1.56 million from 269 locations). Its No. 5 Australia bow produced $1.9 million from 209 spots. Foreign gross total (including the James Cameron blockbuster‘s original run) now stands at about $1.29 billion, second all time behind Cameron’s 2009 smash Avatar ($2.031 billion).

Dropping from No. 2 last round to No. 3 on the weekend was Lionsgate’s The Hunger Games, which collected $25.5 million from some 6,600 locations in 60 markets, down 27%. Overseas action continues to lag substantially behind the torrid domestic pace set by the action/sci-fi vehicle starring Jennifer Lawrence. Foreign gross total stands at $157.1 million versus the film’s domestic take of $302.8 million.

American Pie: Reunion (American Reunion in the U.S. and Canada) premiered offshore in 28 territories for an estimated tally of $19.3 million drawn from 2,388 locations. It ranks No. 4 on the weekend.

The weekend’s No. 5 title, Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax, elicited $11.8 million from some 4,000 situations in 49 territories, lifting its international gross total to $59 million. Universal’s 3-D animation adapted from the classic children’s book opened in seven markets including Hong Kong where it played just 34 venues, and drew $386,000 for a per-site average of nearly $11,500.