'Inception' leads the international box office

With big openings and strong holdovers from last week, Christopher Nolan's
Inception, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, took the number one spot from
Toy Story 3 around the world this past weekend.

In Germany, the sci-fi thriller opened at number one and reached the top spot in France as well as getting big showings in the UK and South Korea. Inception made $53.7 million in 51 countries, adding its $170 million international figure to the total worldwide take of $363 million. In North America, the film kept its grip on the top spot for the third week.

Last week's top film around the world, Toy Story 3 in 3D, dropped to second place, collecting $39.1 million from 48 countries to bring the worldwide total to $826.1 million. The third sequel of the animated franchise topped the box office in the UK and Japan.

Salt, starring Angelina Jolie, hit the number three position with nine more openings around the world. Phillip Noyce's spy thriller took number one in South Korea, Russia, the Philippines, and Malaysia, with 35 more releases due in August.

The animated film Shrek Forever After in 3D was in fourth, continuing to play well in 57 countries and maintaining its stronghold in Brazil at the top of the box office.

The Tom Cruise-Cameron Diaz action-comedy Knight & Day claimed the number five position worldwide, opening in second place in France. It releases next weekend in the UK.

Animated family film Despicable Me in 3D set records in Latin America with number one openings and debuts in 42 more countries this week, including Brazil, Hong Kong, India and Israel.

Other films with big openings and still rolling out in various regions include the fantasy adventures The Last Airbender and The Sorcerer's Apprentice starring Nicolas Cage.

RC