Monday, May 23, 2005

"Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith" became the year's first movie blockbuster while setting some historic benchmarks, as it rode a record-breaking debut on Thursday to the biggest number ever for a four-day opening.

In the United States, the movie took in an estimated total of $158.5 million in 3,661 theaters, a figure that bested the last four-day record, set for "The Matrix Reloaded" in 2003, of $134.3 million. "Episode III" also opened almost everywhere around the world, and took in and additional $144.7 million overseas. International box-office records are difficult to calculate because of the myriad countries involved, but the figure was certainly a huge success for the film, whose total box office was $303.2 million for the first four days.

"We set records domestically, internationally and intergalactically," said Bruce Snyder, Fox's distribution president. "A big part of the success, and the continuing amazing grosses, is that people are coming out of the auditorium and are getting back on line to buy more tickets for future shows."