Ranbir beats Tom Cruise, Saawariya is No 1
The box office power of Bollywood showed itself this weekend as “Saawariya” emerged the surprise No. 1 hit internationally, outgrossing Tom Cruise’s “Lions for Lambs” by more than USD 5 million.
“Saawariya,” a nearly three-hour musical in Hindi with English subtitles based on Dostoyevsky’s “White Nights,” brought in an estimated USD 15.4 million from 13 markets. Almost all of the gross came from India. North America chipped in about USD 600,000,
“Lions,” director Robert Redford’s reading of contemporary events in Washington and the Middle East, took in just USD 10.3 million from 45 markets. The film also opened at No. 4 in North America with a modest USD 6.7 million.
Negative reviews in the U.K. and other parts of Europe inhibited the “Lions” tally. Early estimates show that the film failed to commandingly finish first in any of its opening territories, and it finished outside the top 5 in the U.K., ranking sixth with $1.4 million. 20th Century Fox International, which is releasing the film overseas, expressed “disappointment in some markets.”
Third place went to the Ben Stiller comedy “The Heartbreak Kid,” which grossed USD 8.6 million from 25 markets. The overseas total rose to USD 41 million.
“Ratatouille,” the top overseas grosser for the preceding five weekends, fell to No. 4 with USD 8.1 million from 31 territories as its lengthy foreign campaign wound down. Its overseas gross stands at USD 386.5 million.
“Resident Evil: Extinction” was fifth with USD 5.7 million, raising its overseas haul to USD 81.5 million.
Popularity: 16%
