CINEMA 'Revenge' breaks records

May 24, 2005 at 12:00a.m.

The 'Star Wars' prequel beat 'The Matrix Reloaded' for best four-day opening.
ZAP2IT.COM
LOS ANGELES -- Despite the critical panning of the first two "Star Wars" prequels, filmmaker George Lucas is having an extended last laugh as the finale, "Episode III -- Revenge of the Sith," blasts through theaters in its debut. The missing piece of the space saga earned an estimated $108.5 million for its first weekend out, adding to its already record-breaking Thursday premiere numbers of $50 million, according to Exhibitor Relations.
The cumulative $158.5 million easily beats the $134.3 million earned by "The Matrix Reloaded" for the best four-day opening. In all, "Sith" boasts nearly 70 percent of the Top 12 ticket sales for the weekend, averaging $29,637 for each of its 3,661 screens. Despite this triumph, the film, starring Hayden Christensen as the emergent Darth Vader, may be just shy of the best three-day opening title after the $114.8 million earned by "Spider-Man" in 2002, if estimates hold. This doesn't count "Sith's" Thursday's box-office take, only the Friday through Sunday earnings.
Other offerings
Audience members out of the loop this weekend found their way to the Jane Fonda-Jennifer Lopez "Monster-in-Law," making it the second-place film with $14.4 million, while Will Ferrell's "Kicking & amp; Screaming" only kicked up a little fuss with $10.5 million for third.
The ensemble drama "Crash" held its own at No. 4 with $5.5 million, while the Jet Li martial arts flick "Unleashed" dropped two places with $3.8 million. The remaining films rounding out the Top 12 include "Kingdom of Heaven," the horrifying "House of Wax," Nicole Kidman's "The Interpreter," "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy," "Mindhunters," "XXX: State of the Union" and the whistle-blowing documentary "Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room."
Opening in limited release was the other "Exorcist" prequel, "Dominion," which only took in an average of $1,082 for each of its 110 screens, while the only two theaters showing the humorous "Sex, Politics & amp; Cocktails" made off with an impressive $3,079 apiece.