"Les Miserable" topped holdovers "The Hobbit" and "Skyfall" in its international debut in Japan over the weekend.
It brought in $1 million from 348 locations in Japan and also screened in paid previews in Korea. The numbers are encouraging for Universal, because they compare with those of another well-known musical brought to the big screen by the studio, "Mamma Mia." That movie grossed more than $600 million worldwide in 2008.
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"Les Miserables" opens in the U.S. and Canada, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and Spain on Christmas Day, followed by Australia on Dec. 26 and Hungary on Dec. 27. The rest of the international will release come in 2013, including the U.K. and Ireland on Jan. 11.
The studio received more good "Les Miserables" news over the weekend. The film album was the No. 1 soundtrack and the No. 3 album on iTunes on its first day of sales. “I Dreamed A Dream” is top soundtrack song and was leading "Movers & Shakers" on Amazon.