'Monsters vs. Aliens' is Big in Russia

As you probably know, Monsters vs. Aliens will arrive in standard format and 3-D theaters this weekend (and you should spring for the 3-D). But the film has already premiered in Russia, and boy, did it ever open in a big way. Variety reports that even though Russia and Ukraine is a breeding ground for movie pirates (more on that later), Paramount and DreamWorks decided to take the plunge and release the film there a week earlier than its domestic debut, earning a whopping $6.2 million. That may not seem like a lot, but that's about one-sixth the number of theaters Monsters will attack this Friday in the states. Do the math. And then add a little more because it's a particularly American film. For the record, it was the fourth biggest opening ever for an animated film in Russia and the business was strong enough that the film took seventh place for international releases last weekend, despite only appearing in two territories and 600-plus theaters. To prevent or at least deter movie pirates, Paramount only shipped dubbed prints of Monsters to Russian and Ukrainian theaters. The theory behind that is if it's a version in another language you'll be less likely to watch it if it's pirated and a lot less likely to send it down the line. I don't know if that's true or not, and Paramount probably won't have that answer until it looks at how much money the movie makes versus the number of torrent downloads. Speaking of how much money the movie will make, get ready for a pretty big weekend for Monsters vs. Aliens.