To me, Men in Black is an action comedy, and it did great box office, worldwide, relative to it's US gross. As did Red, as you pointed out. (I also think the Transformers movies are hilarious, but not for the reasons the producers intended :) ) Maybe it's the action-romcom, specifically, that has performance issues. And that may have more to do with the romcom part, than the action part.

I'll opine, wearing my Brazilian hat: The Hangover. I think that's the model. I suppose it is squarely in the "Comedy" genre, but to me that is a blurry definition. Plenty of action in that movie. Hangover 2 did $16 million in Brazil and I'd argue that if there were a more efficient distribution model (VOD, for one) that would've been twice as high. Project X will be interesting to see. If it can put up Superbad ($120 million domestic) numbers in the US it should easily be able to hit 10% of that in Brazil - if they aren't lazy or indifferent about marketing it properly. Superbad did less than $2 million in Brazilian release despite being hugely beloved by nearly every Brazilian dude I know. Whoever picked it up for Brazilian distribution just didn't care. It should've done much better. The thing Hollywood really has going for it in terms of international box office is that guys are pretty much the same everywhere you go. And thanks to wide syndication of Seinfeld and Two and a Half Men, (just two examples of shows that are better than 99% of locally produced content) everyone is learning to understand and appreciate American comedy and timing. Hollywood should not be afraid to produce male-targeted comedies. The International market wants to consume it. Hollywood should be working harder on better distribution and marketing. Comedies for girls? That's a tough one.

If this means a chance to get more Beverly Hills Cops and Lethal Weapons, I'm ALL for it.