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Wanted, the action-ðacked comic book adaðtation and Hollywood debut of Kazakh-born Russian hitmaker Timur Bekmambetov triumphed at cinemas in the CIS (Incidentally, the film had its world premiere here). Starring James McAvoy, Angelina Jolie and Morgan Freeman, the film was released by UPI on a record 859 screens, the widest release of a foreign film ever in post-Soviet box office history. Such a large-scale release did not waste any time in yielding suitable box office results – in its first four days, Wanted grossed $10,695,740 – the highest-grossing start for a Hollywood film in the CIS this year. It easily took the top spot in the box office chart. Including Wanted, the number of films that grossed more than $1 million in this box office year is now 86.
The pre-eminence of the new leader was overwhelming. Last week’s winner, Sex and the City (Caro Premier) was bonked into second place, having grossed $1,504,928 in its second weekend (down 60% from its first) from 496 screens, for an 11-day total of $6,930,165. The Adam Sandler comedy You Don’t Mess With the Zohan (BVSPR) held onto third place, putting $579,457(a 51% drop) onto its account in its second weekend from 290 screens, adding up to $2,375,402 in 11 days. Kung Fu Panda, which dropped from second place to fourth, nevertheless made a significant achievement. By moving past the $20 million milestone, it became the second-highest grossing animated film ever in CIS distribution. The Shrek the Third was the first with $23.39 million. In its fourth weekend, Kung Fu Panda grossed $518,876 (a 63% drop) for a 25-day total of $20,066,035.
Besides Bekmambetov’s blockbuster, there were two more new films in the Top Ten, both of them British. In seventh place, the military horror movie Outpost (Top Film) blasted its way across 58 screens, grossing $81,432. In the next spot down was the torture-porn detective yarn Waz (Lizard), which grossed $60 849 from 61 screens.
Alexander Proshkin’s $1.7 million war drama Live and Remember (CP Classic), starring Mikhail Yevlanov and Darya Moroz and based on the eponymous novella by Valentin Rasputin, grossed $18 123 from 10 screens. Director Abdel Kechiche’s French Drama The Secret of the Grain [La Graine et le mullet] (Cinema Without Frontiers), which won multiple Cesar awards this year including Best Film, debuted in 15th place, grossing $8,936 from four screens. Finally, Petter Naess’s film Gone with the Woman (Premium), Norway's official submission for the Best Foreign Language Film category of the 2008 Academy Awards, took $1,287 from two screens.
Total CIS box office for the last weekend in June (June 26-29) increased 55.1% compared to the previous weekend, amounting to $14,038,716. |
