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Friday, June 3, 2011

Box office shocker: "The Tourist" a hit overseas (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – Remember "The Tourist," starring Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp?

The movie -- which bombed in North America -- has turned out to be quite the world traveler, grossing a mighty $210.7 million overseas.

By contrast, moviegoers in the United States and Canada bought just $67.6 million worth of tickets after the critically reviled saga opened in December. The worldwide total now stands at an impressive $278.3 million.

When "The Tourist" opened poorly in North America, there was plenty of chatter about whether its producers, Graham King and Tim Headington, would take a financial hit, considering the movie's budget was close to $100 million.

Sony Pictures released the action-thriller in North America through its deal with the duo's GK Films, and also picked up a number of foreign territories.

When all is said and done, those involved with "The Tourist" did fine by it.

In fact, it's Jolie's fourth most successful film after "Salt," "Wanted" and "Mr. & Mrs. Smith," and Depp's best showing after the "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise, "Alice in Wonderland" and "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory."

The top territory for "The Tourist" was Japan, where the movie earned $22.5 million. Depp is a huge star there, and attended the Tokyo premiere in March.

China was second-best at $20 million. Jolie, in particular, is well-known to Chinese audiences because of the "Kung Fu Panda" franchise.

"The Tourist" also did well across Europe -- where it was set -- including in Italy, where it grossed $16 million. Elsewhere, the movie earned a hearty $11 million in Australia and $10.1 million in Brazil.

One box observer says foreign moviegoers can be more swayed by big stars than domestic audiences. Also, some countries, such as Japan, fall for romantic adventures.

Either way, the much-ridiculed best comedy Golden Globe nomination earned by "The Tourist" now makes a little more sense.

(To read more about our entertainment news, visit our blog "Fan Fare" online at http://blogs.reuters.com/fanfare/)


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