Post by Booker Thee on May 22, 2005 19:25:46 GMT -5
CNN.com
LOS ANGELES, California (Reuters) -- George Lucas' final "Star Wars" movie scored the second-best three-day weekend of all time on Sunday, but the Force was not strong enough to prevent overall ticket sales in North America from posting a year-on-year-decline for the 13th consecutive weekend.
"Star Wars: Episode III -- Revenge of the Sith" sold an estimated $108.5 million worth of tickets for the Friday-to-Sunday period, taking its total to $158.5 million since it opened after midnight on Thursday.
Its four-day haul sets a new record, surpassing the $134.3 million tally of 2003's "The Matrix Reloaded." Its Thursday tally of $50 million also set a one-day record, beating the $44.8 million sum for "Shrek 2" last year.
The three-day weekend record is held by "Spider-Man," which opened to almost $115 million in 2002. "Revenge of the Sith" narrowly topped "Shrek 2," which opened with $108 million. Rankings could change when final data are issued on Monday.
The new "Star Wars" film easily beat the opening weekends of its two most recent predecessors, all of which were released by Twentieth Century Fox, a unit of News Corp.
"Star Wars: Episode II -- Attack of the Clones" nabbed $80 million during its first weekend three years ago, while 1999's "Star Wars: Episode I -- The Phantom Menace" kick-started the 28-year-old franchise with a $64.8 million bow. They ended up with $311 million and $431 million respectively.
"Revenge of the Sith" answers the age-old question of how the evil warlord Darth Vader crossed over to the dark side. The critics were generally kind, perhaps mindful that "Sith" marks the end of an era and was not as bad as the last two much-maligned films. But Rolling Stone magazine lamented writer/director Lucas' "special knack ... of turning flesh-and-blood characters into cardboard cutouts."
LOS ANGELES, California (Reuters) -- George Lucas' final "Star Wars" movie scored the second-best three-day weekend of all time on Sunday, but the Force was not strong enough to prevent overall ticket sales in North America from posting a year-on-year-decline for the 13th consecutive weekend.
"Star Wars: Episode III -- Revenge of the Sith" sold an estimated $108.5 million worth of tickets for the Friday-to-Sunday period, taking its total to $158.5 million since it opened after midnight on Thursday.
Its four-day haul sets a new record, surpassing the $134.3 million tally of 2003's "The Matrix Reloaded." Its Thursday tally of $50 million also set a one-day record, beating the $44.8 million sum for "Shrek 2" last year.
The three-day weekend record is held by "Spider-Man," which opened to almost $115 million in 2002. "Revenge of the Sith" narrowly topped "Shrek 2," which opened with $108 million. Rankings could change when final data are issued on Monday.
The new "Star Wars" film easily beat the opening weekends of its two most recent predecessors, all of which were released by Twentieth Century Fox, a unit of News Corp.
"Star Wars: Episode II -- Attack of the Clones" nabbed $80 million during its first weekend three years ago, while 1999's "Star Wars: Episode I -- The Phantom Menace" kick-started the 28-year-old franchise with a $64.8 million bow. They ended up with $311 million and $431 million respectively.
"Revenge of the Sith" answers the age-old question of how the evil warlord Darth Vader crossed over to the dark side. The critics were generally kind, perhaps mindful that "Sith" marks the end of an era and was not as bad as the last two much-maligned films. But Rolling Stone magazine lamented writer/director Lucas' "special knack ... of turning flesh-and-blood characters into cardboard cutouts."