MUMBAI: Weak overseas box office intakes enabled The Dark Knight Rises to again rule the No. 1 spot for the fifth consecutive week pushing the film‘s overseas gross total past that of its predecessor, The Dark Knight that released in 2008.
The $20.6-million weekend tally recorded by The Dark Knight in 61 overseas markets was this year‘s third lowest for a No. 1-ranked title. But, in spite of this, the Christopher Nolan-helmed film totaled its foreign accumulation to $487.8 million, which is $18.1 million more than Dark Knight‘s $469.7 million.
The gap, in mention, should widen since The Dark Knight opens in Greece this week, China on 27 August and in Italy on 29 Aug. The two biggest markets of the film, to date, are the UK and Australia.
The weekend‘s notable foreign circuit newcomer was undoubtedly The Expendables 2 that stars Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Chuck Norris, Jean-Claude Van Dammes and Arnold Schwarzenegger among many others.
Universal opened the Millennium Films-Nu Image Films action sequel.
Upon opening, the film took the top market spot with $7.9 million drawn from 750 sites. This was 45 per cent bigger than the opening tally grossed by The Expendables in 2010. In Italy, the film recorded a No. 1 debut gross of $2 million at 259 locations.
In the UK, the film tallied $2.8 million (including previews) at around 450 situations.
The total gross of Russia, Italy and UK stands at an estimated $12.7 million.
It may be remembered that the original Expendables had grossed $171.4 million overseas compared to $103.1 million in the US and Canada.