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Ahead of U.S. premiere, ‘Rio’ has biggest international debut of 2011

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The 3-D animated movie ‘Rio’ doesn’t fly into U.S. theaters for another week, but it’s already a hit overseas.

The family film about birds who embark on a Brazilian adventure opened in 72 foreign markets this weekend and collected a strong $55 million, according to an estimate from distributor 20th Century Fox. The movie opened in the No. 1 slot in 32 foreign markets, including Mexico, Germany, and China. And the film did the majority of its business in 3-D theaters, which comprised 71% of overall ticket sales.

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‘Rio’ was originally slated to premiere in the U.S. this weekend. When the domestic release date was changed many of the international dates were left intact because a number of schools are out on holiday abroad.

Not surprisingly, the movie had one of its best debuts in Brazil, where it grossed $8.3 million -- the biggest-ever opening for an animated film in the country. Fox unveiled a strong promotional push in Rio de Janeiro, sending a number of press outlets to its March 22 premiere there.

In Russia, ‘Rio’ was previewed in theaters early, so it had a slightly higher gross of $10.4 million. That was the best opening of any film to date this year in that country.

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The film opens in 19 additional foreign markets, including France and Italy, next weekend.

Meanwhile, the hybrid live-action-animated film ‘Hop’ is not finding as much success abroad. This weekend, the movie about the Easter bunny’s teenage son grossed $5.9 million in 32 foreign markets, bringing its international total to $15.1 million. The film performed best in Australia, where it collected $1.6 million. By contrast, ‘Rio,’ which also opened down under this weekend, grossed $2.2 million in the country.

Next weekend ‘Hop’ will debut in 10 more foreign markets, including Mexico and Spain.

-- Amy Kaufman

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