LOS ANGELES - Think globally was this weekend's message from Sony's Columbia Pictures as it launched "Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle" to $38 million.

"Throttle's" chart-topping start was short of the pumped up kick-off some insiders anticipated. It was about 5 percent less than the original "Angels'" $40.1 million opening in early November 2000, a less competitive time of year. "Angels" did $125.3 million domestically (U.S. and Canada).

"Our goal was to be as good or better than the first 'Charlie's Angels,'" Sony Corp. (SNE: Research, Estimates)'s Sony Pictures Entertainment Vice Chairman Jeff Blake told me. "We're certainly well within the range and in the middle of summer we should by the end of the week be equal to or above the first one, which finished the week at $50.4 million."

Emphasizing international's importance in ultimately achieving "Throttle's" success, Blake noted, "We wanted to beat ourselves worldwide. The international portion of the original 'Charlie's Angels' was $138 million (with a worldwide) total of $263 million."

"We got off to a fabulous start internationally," he added. "Japan opened day and date with the U.S. and is double the first one. It did approximately $6.2 million, one of the best openings of the year. We (also) opened 13 other smaller markets, all of which are running about 50 percent ahead of the first one."

"Throttle" stars Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore and Lucy Liu are, Blake said, "in Paris for the premiere (Monday and then) go to the U.K., Madrid, Rome and Berlin. Not only will we have a good chance to equal or better the total here, but worldwide we're confident we're going to beat it."

In domestic exit polls, Blake said, "We ran about 60-40 percent female to male. It's about 55 percent under-25 and 45 percent over-25, a pretty good mix of ages. Young women love it, but men like it, as well."

"The Hulk" from Vivendi Universal (V: Research, Estimates)'s Universal Pictures and Marvel Enterprises (MVL: Research, Estimates) was second in weekend two with $18.4 million, down 70 percent. Its 10 day cumulative total is $100.2 million, heading for $130-140 million domestically.

"We are obviously disappointed in the drop, but we're proud of the film and, hopefully, it fares better overseas where the openings have been strong," Universal distribution president Nikki Rocco observed.

"When we set out to do this project we knew we were embracing a bit of a risk, but because we were extremely confident in our talented filmmakers we wanted to take that risk," she said. "We wanted to make 'Hulk' something different than what's been done with the (comic book) genre. We were very, very fortunate in the past when we took risks. That's the business we're in."

"Hulk," Rocco explained, "is only one of a variety of films (from Universal this summer), including 'Bruce Almighty,' '2 Fast 2 Furious' and 'American Wedding' (the 'American Pie' sequel opening Aug. 1) that make up our entire portfolio. We've already grossed $435 million in six weekends with three films. With three other films coming out this summer, including the third installment of one of our most successful franchises ('Wedding'), we're truly optimistic about the performance of Universal's entire lineup."

Disney (DIS: Research, Estimates) and Pixar Animation (PIXR: Research, Estimates)'s "Finding Nemo" showed good sea legs in third place with $13.9 million, down just 34 percent. With its $253.9 million total to date, "Nemo" should get to $300 million and be the summer's biggest film.

The thriller "28 Days Later" from News Corp. (NWS: Research, Estimates)'s Fox Searchlight Pictures opened fourth to a stronger than expected $9.7 million.

July Fourth box office fireworks are expected for "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines" (AOL Time Warner (AOL: Research, Estimates)'s Warner Bros. and InterMedia), "Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde" (MGM (MGM: Research, Estimates)) and "Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas" (DreamWorks), all opening Wednesday. (AOL Time Warner is the parent of CNN/Money)  

-- Martin Grove appears Mondays on CNNfn's "The Biz," which airs at 12:30 p.m., 8 p.m. and 11 p.m., ET.