'The Angry Birds Movie' soars high internationally

"The Angry Birds Movie", which is releasing in India on May 27, has soared to number one position across 37 markets, raking in $43 million during its first weekend across Europe, South America and Australia.

Taking the basic structure of Rovio Entertainment's mobile game of the same name, the film brings the story of Red and his friends onto the silver screen in a hilarious manner.

In the game, angry but cute little birds fight it out with pigs who have stolen their eggs. In the film, the birds get angry, will seek revenge, and vow to save their world -- albeit with traces of comedy.

The film is supported by Jason Sudeikis as Red, Josh Gad as speedy Chuck, Bill Hader as a pig, Maya Rudolph as Matilda, and Peter Dinklage as the Mighty Eagle.

Rovio, the creators of the original Angry Birds mobile game and the driving force behind the film, is also claiming a record May opening for an original animated film with the premiere, reports cnet.com.

"Strong critical reception and great word of mouth ignited the box office on Saturday as 'The Angry Birds Movie' displayed huge increases from Friday, suggesting a long and, dare we say it, happy run for the film," the company said on its website.

The gross box-office collection of the film is: $5.7 million in Russia, $3.0 million in Britain, $2.9 million in Germany and Mexico, $2.7 million in Brazil, $2.1 million in Spain, $2.0 million in Australia, $1.9 million in France, $1.4 million in Peru and $1.4 million in Argentina, read a statement.

"The Angry Birds Movie" is set to open in the US (May 20), China (May 20) and South Korea (May 19), Italy (June 15) and Japan (October 1).

--IANS

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