Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart in Chris Weitz's The Twilight Saga: New Moon (Kimberley French / Summit Entertainment) (top); Rachel Weisz in Alejandro Amenábar's Agora (Mod Producciones) (middle); Noomi Rapace in Niels Arden Oplev's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Nordisk Films) (bottom)
A total of $10.7 billion. That's the 2009 box-office take overseas for Hollywood's six major studios according to early estimates published in The Hollywood Reporter. That's also an all-time record and an increase of 7% from 2008. Top Hollywood hits overseas include Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, 2012, The Twilight Saga: New Moon, Avatar, and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. Only three of the top ten domestic grossers — The Hangover, Star Trek, and Monsters vs. Aliens — earned more money in the US/Canada than abroad.
Those figures are remarkable, of course, but as always they should be read within a certain context. The dollar has lost quite a bit of its value in a number of key movie markets, which means larger dollar amounts after local currencies are converted. Also, the Hollywood studios won't see all that money pouring into their coffers, as local distributors, exhibitors, and governments will grab a sizable chunk of the grosses.
And finally, it's worth remembering that the box-office take reported above covers only the six Hollywood majors. I know it's hard to believe if you live in the US or read only American publications, but there are lots of people making movies outside of both Hollywood and the United States. And some of those movies are very successful.
Here is a list of a few countries and their local hits: Brazil (If I Were You 2, $32m), China (The Founding of a Republic, $60.7m), France* (Le Petit Nicolas, $48.3m), Spain (Agora, $30.2m), Sweden (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, 1.2m admissions in Sweden; approx. $100m worldwide).
* Includes Algeria, Tunisia, Monaco, and Morocco
Sources: Box Office Mojo, Cineuropa