A strong launch in Italy was enough to send Charlie and the Chocolate Factory past the $200 million mark and remain No. 1 at the foreign box office. After a $13.8 million weekend from 52 markets, the picture jumped to $201.1 million-the sixth movie of the year to reach that milestone – by Conor Bresnan for Box Office MoJo.
With strong media buzz and positive reviews, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory ranked first in Italy with $2.7 million. It was also on top in Denmark with a $307,000 opening from 67 screens. The two markets were the last major debuts of Charlie’s overseas schedule, leaving it to rely on holdovers from here on out.
Tim Burton’s family feature has thrived thus far in holdover markets, led by the United Kingdom’s $65.3 million. In Japan, Charlie eased seven percent in its third weekend. It made $3.9 million for a $22 million total, light years ahead of animated movies such as Madagascar and Shark Tale. More impressive was South Korea’s nine percent drop from last weekend’s holiday opening. Its $1.6 million weekend staved off new entries to remain the market’s highest-grossing non-Korean movie, and the total rose to $5 million.
