"Ice Age" and "Bruno" had different audiences to themselves over the weekend, as Fox’s 3-D hit repeated atop the international box office, and Sacha Baron Cohen’s mockumentary bowed strong.
"Ice Age" continues to dominate, having grossed another $97.9 million from 102 markets. Fox’s animated 3-D family film opened last week with $151.7 million.
Total gross overseas now stands at $327 million; the film’s predecessor, "Ice Age: The Meltdown," grossed $457 million in 2006 internationally.
But all eyes were on "Bruno," which took in an estimated $25 million, according to studio estimates. The film, distributed by Universal in the U.S., has three distributors overseas: Universal, Sony and Mandate.
The eight Universal territories with "Bruno" were strong, with the U.K. and Ireland having an $8.1 million weekend, a record debut for an "18-rated" film in the U.K.
It grossed $6.1 in Australia, and it had a $2.9 million weekend in Germany. The fictitious Bruno’s homeland of Austria saw $450,000, but the per-screen average there was a strong $8,553.
Mandate opened "Bruno" in 16 smaller territories, including Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. Their contribution to the "Bruno" coffers was $3.8 million.
Sony, with "Bruno" playing in Spain, Greece and Portugal, added $1.3 million. More Sony and Mandate Int’l. debuts will come during the next few months.
Cohen’s previous alter ego film, "Borat," grossed $133.1 million overseas in 2006.
"Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" grossed another $32.5 million over the weekend in 63 territories. The film’s foreign total is at $364.5 million, just $24.5 million less than the original’s overseas gross.
Finishing fourth was Universal’s "Public Enemies," which grossed $8 million from 17 markets. Its total overseas now stands at $16.7 million.
