'Aliens,' 'Fast' Big Overseas

The weekend of April 3-5 saw two titles -- Monsters vs. Aliens and Fast and Furious -- jump the $30 million mark at the international box office as kids flooded out of schools for spring break. Monsters vs. Aliens, from DreamWorks Animation and Paramount, grossed $33.5 million as it made its first major push abroad, playing in 7,467 runs in 47 territories.

The 3-D runs for Monsters turned in a disproportionate amount of the gross, indicating that moviegoers overseas are just as willing as Americans to pay a premium to see a 3-D title. In the U.K., Monsters opened No. 1, grossing $6.5 million from 643 locations. The per-location average for the 172 3-D locations was $17,000 -- compared to a per-location average of $7,000 for the 564 conventional runs. Per-location average was even more impressive for the seven Imax runs, clocking in at $43,285.

These stats were repeated in other territories, including Australia, where the per-location average for the 50 3-D locations was $20,000, vs. $7,000 for the 241 2-D runs. The two Imax locations enjoyed a per-location average of $48,500.

Domestically, Monsters' gross was $111.5 million through April 8 for a worldwide tally of $158.5 million. Paramount execs believe the pic will continue to benefit from kids being on spring vacation.

By Pamela McClinotock, Variety