"Terminator" tops overseas box office

"Terminator Salvation" broadened its international presence over the weekend and claimed the No. 1 spot at the overseas box office, while the previous week's champ, "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian," slipped to second place.

With the comic fantasy "Land of the Lost" opening overseas next weekend, the international circuit lacked a high-profile debut this round.

"Terminator Salvation" grossed $67.5 million from 8,325 screens in 70 markets. The fourth title in the sci-fi action series had been in foreign release for a fortnight, playing mostly limited dates in the Middle East and Asia. The Christian Bale/Sam Worthington vehicle broke wide over the weekend, finishing in first place in all but four of the territories it played.

The leading market was the U.K., where "Salvation" grossed $11.6 million from 900 locations. Russia produced $8 million from 786 sites, the 10th biggest weekend opener ever for a Hollywood title in the market.

"Terminator Salvation's" early foreign gross is $97.2 million. With $4.4 million from paid previews in Japan factored in, the cume is $101.6 million.

Last weekend's No. 1 foreign attraction, "Battle of the Smithsonian," generated $26.7 million from 8,300 screens in 66 markets. Its foreign total stands at $148.4 million. The worldwide tally is $275.7 million.

The family comedy starring Ben Stiller premiered at No. 1 in Korea ($4.8 million from 542 spots) and finished first in its second China weekend with $2.1 million from 818 locations.

No. 3, Tom Hanks-starring "Angels & Demons," drew $22.3 million from 9,190 screens in 100 markets, hiking "The Da Vinci Code" follow-up's international gross to $293 million.

Fourth was the animation feature "Up," which opened at the top of the box office in Mexico, Colombia and Venezuela for an overall weekend tally of $7.8 million from 1,270 screens in four markets, including Russia. The international gross for "Up" stands at $13.5 million in 10 days of release. Worldwide total is $150.8 million.

The 11th "Star Trek" edition finished at No. 5, dialing up $6 million in its fifth weekend, playing 4,370 screens in 62 markets, for a solid international total of $112 million (worldwide, $334.8 million). Its foreign total is easily the biggest overseas tally of any of the "Star Trek" titles. The series' top grosser previously was 1996's "Star Trek: First Contact," with offshore box office of $57.4 million.

"Hannah Montana: The Movie," the teen pop saga starring Miley Cyrus, generated $5.6 million from 2,100 screens in 21 markets, for an international gross thus far of $43.5 million.

"X-Men Origins: Wolverine" drew $3.2 million during the weekend from 5,096 sites in 48 territories, hiking its foreign cumulative gross to $176.2 million. "State of Play," the thriller starring Russell Crowe, grossed $2.5 million from 1,170 sites in 28 markets for a total of $28.1 million.

Sam Raimi's horror picture "Drag Me to Hell" opened in the Philippines and Thailand and generated an estimated $2.4 million overall from 860 screens. The movie's cumulative gross for 10 days stands at $7.3 million. (www.reuters.com)