Looks like director José Padilha's "Robocop" has blasted its way to No. 1 in 10 markets at the overseas box office this weekend for its opening, while the computer-animated film "Mr. Peabody & Sherman" pulled off a huge upset in the U.K. box office.
RoboCop stars Josh Kinnaman as the title character along with Gary Oldman, Michael Keaton, and Samuel L. Jackson. It is a remake of the iconic 1987 original that starred Peter Weller that spawned three sequels. Mr. Peabody & Sherman is based on a cartoon segment Peabody's Improbable History in the 1960's animated TV series, The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show.
MGM and Columbia Pictures' Robocop brought in an estimated $20.2 million from overseas this weekend, ahead of its Wednesday opening in the United States.The international total for the film is now at $28.7 million, with $10.6 million coming from MGM's distribution partners and $18 million from Sony Pictures International.
It opened on top in France with $3 million and in Australia and Germany, adding $2 million from each. It played on 87 Imax screens in 29 counties and delivered $1.5 million, or $17,000 per screen. The studio is opening "Robocop" on Wednesday in North America, getting the jump on the long Presidents Day weekend.
In its first and only international debut, DreamWorks animation and Fox Kid's own Mr. Peabody & Sherman took in $6.6 million, including $2.2 million in previews, beating RoboCop ($3.7 million). The animated film opens in France, Belgium and Switzerland next weekend and in the United States on March 7.
Disney's animated blockbuster "Frozen" continued to be dominant force as it climbed to $1 billion at the global box office with $24 million from 47 markets this weekend, including an impressive $13.7 million from China, where it opened Wednesday.
Adding to its sensational U.S. opening is the "The Lego Movie". The film brought in $18.1 million from 34 markets for Warner Bros. over the past three days. Its $4.1 million No. 1 opening in Mexico was an impressive feat since the toy brand is relatively new there.
Lastly, "The Wolf of Wall Street" continued its strong overseas run, adding $19 million from 30 markets. That raises the international haul for Martin Scorsese's black comedy starring Leonardo DiCaprio to $150 million, in addition to the nearly $108 million it's taken in domestically for Paramount.
