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Journalism of Courage
Family-oriented animation trumped horror at the foreign box-office during Halloween weekend as Despicable Me reclaimed the No. 1 spot from Paranormal Activity 2.
The 3D cartoon snared $22.8 million from 47 markets,pushing its foreign haul to $235.4 million. Strong holdovers in France ($6.9 million,No. 3) and Britain ($4.5 million,No. 2) combined with a No. 2 opening in Japan ($2.7 million) and a No. 1 Belgium bow ($1.2 million).
Paranormal Activity 2 slipped to No. 2 with $14 million,tied with The Social Network. Their respective totals rose to $46 million and $51 million. The horror sequel remained the top choice in Mexico,while the Facebook saga had the most friends in Australia,Singapore and Israel.
The weekends other Halloween-timed entry,Saw 3D,the new champ in North America,scared up a fourth-ranked $11.5 million from 25 territories. The seventh film in the horror series debuted at No. 1 in Britain with $5.3 million.
Fifth overall,on the strength of its $9.4 million haul in France,was Les Petits Mouchoirs (Little White Lies),a homegrown variation of The Big Chill. Elsewhere,Megamind opened at No. 1 in piracy-prone Russia and Ukraine,tallying a $7.3 million total. The 3D cartoon opened in North America last Friday. Jackass 3D outgrossed its rivals in Germany,Austria and the Netherlands,nabbing a total of $4.2 million from six markets.
