Lucasfilm's STAR WARS EPISODE ONE:THE PHANTOM MENACE passed the $300 million mark in overseas boxoffice,making it the eleventh most successful film of all time outside of NorthAmerica. It opened last week in Switzerland with $1.1 million, thefourth-biggest opening there. In three regions where it was in its secondweek of release, it took in $7.5 million in Germany for a total of $24.7million; $2.7 million in Spain for a total of $10.9 million; and $893,000in Sweden for a total of $3.1 million. The film's total gross from 27countries last weekend was $18.4 million bringing its international grossto $307.4 million. This is more than films such as GHOST ($300 million) andE.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL ($305 million). It is given a good chance tosurpass the third ranked film, INDEPENDENCE DAY, which grossed $503million. TITANIC, with a $1.2 billion gross, remains on top of the list.
Read more about PHANTOM MENACE in the August 1999 issue of Animation WorldMagazine in "The Animated Side of Star Wars: An Interview with Rob Coleman,the Film's Animation Director".
