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"Compass" spinning at soft foreign box office
2007-12-04
The holiday box office season will kick off internationally this week, and not a moment too soon. This year seems to be ending with a whimper in contrast to the box office bang that concluded 2006 when the James Bond outing, "Casino Royale," along with such strong titles as "Flushed Away," "The Departed," "Borat" and "Happy Feet" were kicking up their heels. New Line's "The Golden Compass," which opens in at least 26 markets as ell as North America this week, is likely to change things considerably. It had better, because the studio has much riding on this fantasy -- produced at a reported cost of $180 million -- based on Philip Pullman's "His Dark Materials" trilogy. "Compass" arrives at a propitious time -- when the U.S. dollar has fallen markedly since a year ago. As of November 30, according to Reuters and the Wall Street Journal, the dollar has dropped an average of 7.4% against a basket of currencies in the most significant overseas markets for the U.S. majors. The dollar has dropped 9.8% since January 1 against the euro, 4.8% against the British pound, 6.6% against the Japanese yen, 6.9% against the Russian ruble, 11% against the Norwegian krone and 13.4% against the Thai baht. That's good news for the studios. As exporters, they pull more gross dollars from various international markets on the strength of a falling domestic currency. The dollar denominated grosses look proportionally better. In effect, "Compass" has the currency winds at its back. Meanwhile, "Beowulf" seized the No. 1 spot at the foreign box office last weekend, grossing $19.5 million from 60 territories and hiking its total to a respectable $75 million, according to final data issued Monday. Director Robert Zemeckis' warrior tale finished first in 13 of 16 new markets and 11 of the holdover markets, though the numbers were not astronomical. First place in Australia produced $1.9 million, and in Brazil $1.1 million. With impressive weekend admissions in Paris and its suburbs, Domestic champ "Enchanted" was second internationally with $11.8 million from 13 markets, bolstered by a top-ranked $5.7 million start in France. Its two-week total hit $21.2 million. "Hitman" finished No. 3 with $10.7 million, followed by "American Gangster" with $6.9 million, and "The Heartbreak Kid" with $6.5 million. Reuters/Hollywood Reporter
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