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The first feature of the Taiwanese king of the box office was indicative of what was about to follow, with “Cape No 7” still holding the top spot in the aforementioned list. The film won 6 awards in the Golden Horse and a number internationally, while its success came even though the promotional campaign was not particularly extensive, the two leading actors Van Fan and Chie Tanaka only had minor acting experience and a number of the supporting roles were filled by non-actors.

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The film begins in the 1940s, when an unnamed teacher dispatched to the southernmost town of Hengchun falls in love with a local girl with the Japanese name Kojima Tomoko. After the Surrender of Japan, the teacher is forced to return home as Taiwan was placed under the administrative control of the Republic of China. On his trip home,...

A record 67 countries have submitted films for consideration for best foreign-language film for the 81st Academy Awards, Academy president Sid Ganis said Friday. Nominations will be announced on Thursday, Jan. 22, and the awards will be presented on Sunday, Feb. 22.

The complete list of foreign-language submissions follows. For more details on some of the films, visit THR.com/foreignoscars.

Afghanistan, "Opium War," Siddiq Barmak

Albania, "The Sorrow of Mrs. Schneider," Piro Milkani and Eno Milkani

Algeria, "Masquerades," Lyes Salem

Argentina, "Lion's Den," Pablo Trapero

Austria, "Revanche," Gotz Spielmann

Azerbaijan, "Fortress," Shamil Nacafzada

Bangladesh, "Aha!," Enamul Karim Nirjhar

Belgium, "Eldorado," Bouli Lanners

Bosnia and Herzegovina, "Snow," Aida Begic

Brazil, "Last Stop 174," Bruno Barreto

Bulgaria, "Zift," Javor Gardev

Canada, "The Necessities of Life," Benoit Pilon

Chile, "Tony Manero," Pablo Larrain

China, "Dream Weavers," Jun Gu

Colombia, "Dog Eat Dog," Carlos Moreno

Croatia, "No One's Son," Arsen Anton Ostojic

Czech Republic, "The Karamazovs," Petr Zelenka

Denmark,...

Universal's musical phenom "Mamma Mia!" kept up an amazing beat as it held the No. 1 place for a third straight week in the overseas market, taking in $14.5 million from 4,056 screens in 42 countries. Astounding boxoffice results continued to emerge: Korea held at No. 1 for a third week; it was the biggest opening ever for a musical in Singapore; it became the highest-grossing film of all time in Iceland; it held at No. 2 in the U.K. in its 11th weekend for a 73-day total $118.8 million. Combined with the domestic gross of $141.2 million, the worldwide gross has reached $476.1 million.

"Mamma Mia!" aside, foreign moviegoing is experiencing a relatively quiet period, allowing summer blockbusters to continue to attract attention without the presence of any new high-profile releases.

"Wanted," the comic book adaptation from Universal, landed in the No. 2 spot with $11.7 million from 25 territories, thanks mainly to a $7.7 million (from 504 screens) top-of-the-market bow in Japan.

Cologne, Germany -- Uli Edel's controversial terrorist drama "Der Baader Meinhof Komplex" joined a growing crowd of foreign-language Oscar hopefuls Tuesday, carrying the banner for Germany amid a rash of new entries.

Austria, last year's winner for "The Counterfeiters," added another German-language entry to the mix Tuesday, submitting "Revanche," Gotz Spielmann's unconventional story of guilt and revenge.

Shot in a stark, realistic style with a cast of unknowns, "Revanche" has been a festival hit, winning several international prizes, including top honors from both the Label of European Cinemas and the International Confederation of Art Cinemas in Berlin this year.

Other titles joining the race were Jan Troell's "Everlasting Moments," which will represent Sweden, and Bruno Barreto's "Last Stop 174" from Brazil.

Both titles played in Toronto, where Barreto's chronicle of a real-life bus hijacking in Rio de Janeiro had its world premiere and "Moments" was picked up by Rainbow Media's IFC.

Today's update is a small one as I added the Foreign Language Films as a category to "The Contenders". It is still early and submissions aren't due until October 1, but I have started a list of the films already submitted for consideration for 2009 Best Foreign Language Film. The list below is just the start as each country names their 2009 Oscar submissions. I will update the list as films are named and you can keep tabs on it right here. To be considered for the 2009 Academy Awards, a movie must be released in the submitting country between Oct. 1, 2007, and Sept. 30, 2008, and be publicly screened in a commercial theater for at least seven days. The film must also be predominantly in a language other than English. The Acad considers one pic per country. Crossing (South Korea; dir. Kim Tae-gyun) To verdener (Worlds Apart) (Denmark; dir. Niels Arden Oplev) Dunya & Desie (Netherlands; dir.