In another slow, fragmented overseas weekend, marked by a mishmash of films leading the boxoffice charts in sundry countries, The Pink Panther emerged as the top-grossing film, followed by the stretch run of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, which was welcomed warmly in China and held strong for a second weekend in Japan.

Other weekend favorites included Syriana, Brokeback Mountain, Underworld: Evolution and Walk the Line.

The seasonal slump is perhaps best demonstrated by the U.K., where the boxoffice total fell to $9.96 million, reported as the lowest of the year so far in the market. Thanks to nine new openings, including dates in major markets, Panther, with Steve Martin portraying the bumbling Inspector Clouseau, hauled in $10.3 million over the weekend from 3,094 screens in 34 countries, lifting its international cume to $31.9 million.

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe was released December 9th, 2005 and stars Georgie Henley, Skandar Keynes, William Moseley, Anna Popplewell, Tilda Swinton, James McAvoy, Jim Broadbent, Kiran Shah. The film is directed by Andrew Adamson.