'Girl' shortens 'Shadows' overseas lead

Warner Bros.' holiday holdover "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows" held onto its No. 1 post during the Jan. 20-22 overseas frame, scoring $18.3 million for an international cume of $261.3 million.But in its sixth frame, "Shadows" faded 38% from the previous weekend which allowed two Sony pics, "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" and "Underworld Awakening," to gain ground. The Sony pair posted three-day takes of $15.4 million and $14.8 million, respectively."Sherlock" earned a hearty portion of its total from China, which contributed $3.3 million over the three-day weekend. In its first five days, "Sherlock" nabbed approximately $10 million at the Chinese B.O. for a local cume of $13.3 million through Jan. 22."Dragon Tattoo," meanwhile, opened tops in France, with $3.2 million on 520 screens for a per-screen average of $6,243.Beside Gaul, "Tattoo" bowed in five other territories, including Mexico, where the film also ranked No. 1, thanks to a weekend take of $1.2 million at 540 parlors -- although inking a less-impressive per-screen average of $2,310. Other top territories for "Tattoo" were Germany ($2 million) and Australia ($1.5 million), both in their second outings."Underworld Awakening," the fourth installment in Screen Gems' franchise, debuted day-and-date with the U.S. in 37 overseas territories, led by Russia, Italy and the U.K., where Entertainment Film is distributing.In Russia, "Awakening" tallied a $5.8 million debut -- that's more than seven times better than the second installment, "Evolution," which was the series' previous best launch in that territory. Italy contributed $1.3 million for "Awakening," 32% bigger than "Evolution," while in the U.K. the fourpeat slightly trailed its predecessor with an opening of $1.7 million. Contact Andrew Stewart at andrew.stewart@variety.com