Sony saw solid launches of "The Pursuit of Happyness" in the U.K. and Australia. In Blighty it took $5 million at 413, 11% higher than "The Departed," which registered the best opening of a drama in 2006; in Australia, it garnered $2.7 million at 223, 24% better than "Memoirs of a Geisha," which posted the highest 2006 launch for a drama in Oz. Rough estimates of the Italian launch of "Pursuit," directed by Italian helmer Gabriel Muccino and handled by local distrib Medusa, came in at around $3.5 million at 430 to fall behind "Rocky Balboa" for the top slot.
The respectable numbers for "Pursuit," which opens next weekend in Austria, Germany and Switzerland, underline Will Smith's worldwide box office appeal. Two years ago, "Hitch" took in nearly $190 million outside the U.S.