Witty banter often gets lost in translation. While "Knocked Up" was a knockout with a North American gross of $178.8 million, it picked up just $70.2 million internationally; similarly, "Superbad," which did $121.5 million domestically, scored just $48.4 million abroad.

Undaunted, the majors will unleash an unprecedented batch of comedies -- along with the usual mix of tentpoles, franchise hopefuls, action adventures, family fare and animation. Many will have "day-and-date" openings -- launching in both North America and international markets on the same weekend.

Already, foreign sales experts are grumbling that three romantic comedies -- "Made of Honor," "What Happens in Vegas" and "Sex and the City" -- are arriving almost back-to-back during the May barrage, when they will face off against such potential blockbusters as "Iron Man," "Speed Racer," "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian" and "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull."

Don't count out that initial burst of rom-coms, though, because female-skewing comedies occasionally do beat the odds abroad. In 2006, "The Devil Wears Prada" captured $201.6 million foreign, overshadowing its $124.7 million domestic tally.

Fox, which is distributing "What Happens in Vegas," a broad comedy starring Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher, as an option for moviegoers not rushing to "Speed Racer." Both begin their campaigns during the weekend of May 7.

In June, July and August, the comic boys' club really kicks in with such stalwarts as Mike Myers ("The Love Guru"), Eddie Murphy ("Meet Dave"), Steve Carell ("Get Smart"), Adam Sandler ("You Don't Mess With the Zohan"), Will Ferrell ("Step Brothers"), Ben Stiller ("Tropic Thunder") and Will Smith ("Hancock").

Those movies better amuse moviegoers because they will run up against a phalanx of comic-book superheroes -- not only "Iron Man," but also the Batman installment "The Dark Knight," "Hellboy II: The Golden Army," "The Incredible Hulk" and "Wanted."

Of all the studios, Sony is making the biggest commitment to comedy. In addition to "Made of Honor," which stars "Grey's Anatomy" hunk Patrick Dempsey, it is handling the Sandler, Smith and Ferrell projects.

Smith, who consistently attracts sizable foreign audiences, saw the overseas returns on his 2006 romantic comedy "Hitch" surpass its domestic gross.

"Hancock," in which he plays a down-on-his-luck superhero, combines superhuman slapstick with elaborate special effects. It opens day-and-date in early July, and is set to reach 95 percent of the world later that month; Italy and Japan come aboard in September.

There's some concern, too, about a dent in moviegoing because of competition from the quadrennial European Cup soccer madness -- the tournament runs June 7-29 -- and the Beijing Olympics in August.

To avoid conflict with televised soccer matches. Warner Bros. will bypass Europe during the soccer playoffs with "Get Smart" as the film moves out from June to August. The studio hopes the spy spoof will prove a "big-concept movie" that reaches a mass audience by mixing comedy with action beats.

The time-zone difference with China puts most key markets out of the competitive sphere during the Olympics. However, Universal has arranged for the Asian-themed "The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor" to play China in late July, two weeks before the start of the Olympics and before its day-and-date August 1 blastoff in North America and 32 foreign territories.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter