'Alice in Wonderland' rules foreign box office

Tim Burton and his "Alice in Wonderland" took the worldwide box office by storm last week when the Disney 3D release opened everywhere, and now the film is still leading charts domestically and overseas. On the international circuit, the film took an estimated $76 million this weekend, and its foreign cume now stands at a superb $221 million.

Martin Scorsese's "Shutter Island" is doing just fine as well internationally, scoring another $19.2 million in 43 territories. The film brought its total gross to $82 million. Following in third place with $17 million was James Cameron's "Avatar," which reached a cumulative gross of $1.914 billion.

Meanwhile, No. 4 this weekend was Paul Greengrass' war thriller "Green Zone," which bagged $9.7 million in 14 markets. Matt Damon plays a U.S. solider who runs into trouble with officials when he starts to believe the Iraqi WMD program doesn't exist.

At No. 5, Chris Columbus' adventure "Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief" collected $6.3 million, lifting its international total to $120.5 million. Still in the race was Guy Ritchie's "Sherlock Holmes," which generated $6.1 million. "Valentine's Day" earned $3.5 million.

All I can say to this is bravo to "Alice in Wonderland." No, the movie is not a masterpiece, but just like "Avatar," it keeps surprising us all every weekend, and I am curious to find out how long it will stay on top. 3D really proves to be profitable, and luckily, the technology keeps improving.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter