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‘Cars 2’ races past ‘Kung Fu Panda 2’ overseas

LOS ANGELES - New domestic champ “Cars 2” posted a swift No. 1 opening lap on the foreign box office circuit, beating comparable overseas debuts of previous Pixar outings.

The sequel drew $42.9 million overall from 18 overseas territories, representing a quarter of the overall market.

The opening take was 127% ahead of the comparable figure registered by the first “Cars” in 2006; that film ended up grossing $218 million offshore. It also beat that of last year’s “Toy Story 3” ($648.2 million total) by 4%.

Top markets were Russia ($9.3 million), Mexico ($8.1 million), Brazil ($7.6 million), Italy ($5.7 million) and Australia ($5.2 million).

After two weekends at No. 1, DreamWorks Animation’s “Kung Fu Panda 2” dropped to No. 2 with a $37 million round in 56 markets. Its foreign total stands at $340 million.

“The Hangover: Part II” was No. 3 overall with $15.6 million, also from 56 markets. The comedy opened at No. 1 in Spain with $2.9 million. The foreign total rose to $283.2 million.

“Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides” followed at No. 4 with $13.5 million (foreign total: $756.1 million), and newcomer “Bad Teacher” came in at No. 5 with $12.9 million from 24 markets. The comedy, starring Cameron Diaz as a foul-mouthed school teacher, opened at No. 1 in Germany $6.1 million.

Flaccid so far overseas are “The Green Lantern” and “Mr. Popper’s Penguins.” The former generated $7.1 million in 16 markets, bringing its total over two weekends to $29.4 million. Jim Carrey’s latest comedy, rolling out slowly offshore, grossed $3.4 million from 16 markets, nudging its overseas total to $4.6 million, also over two rounds.