OVERSEAS, THE HANGOVER PART 3 CURES STUDIO’S HEADACHE

Will the overseas box office rescue The Hangover Part 3 and After Earth? Each film has performed horribly in domestic debuts, leaving executives at their respective studios with a semi-permanent condition called “crossed fingers.” Initial signs are propitious. The Hangover Part 3 took in a huge $82.3 million from 54 markets over the weekend, including $15 million from Germany, making it the biggest debut of an American comedy ever in that country. As for After Earth, Forbes magazine’s Scott Mendelson points out that it “may not be a flop in the end.” It notes that two of Will Smith’s biggest box-office grossers performed strongly abroad. Men in Black 3 did 71 percent of its business abroad, while Hancock did about 63 percent. Mendelson observes: “It’s not going to be a runaway hit and egos will be bruised, but this may not be the mega-flop that you might be inclined to presume.”

The top ten films at the overseas box office:
1. The Hangover Part III, $82.3 million; 2. Fast & Furious 3. Star Trek: Into Darkness, $37.6 million; 4. Epic, $28.5 million; 5. The Great Gatsby, $22.6 million; 6. Iron Man 3, $9.9 million; 7. Oblivion, $5.9 million; 8. The Croods, $3.7 million; 9. After Earth, $2.6 million; 10. The Big Wedding, $1.75 million.