Box Office: 'Crystal Skull' rules Memorial Day weekend

By Franck Tabouring

Weekend of May 16 - 18

“Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” dug up $126 million at the North American box office this Memorial Day weekend, according to studio estimates Monday. Adding the $25 million from its opening day last Thursday, the film brought its five-day domestic total to $151 million.

Released by Paramount and directed by Steven Spielberg, the fourth installment in the popular “Indiana Jones” series ranked in closely behind “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End,” which holds the Memorial Day weekend record with $139.8 million. The current record holder for the biggest five-day opening is “Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith” with $172.8 million.

Last week’s box office champion “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian” dropped to No. 2 with a four-day gross of $28.6 million, lifting its total haul to $96.6 million after two weeks in release. Directed by Andrew Adamson, the sequel to “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe” follows the Pevensie siblings as they struggle to take down a ruthless king trying to eradicate the Narnians.

Paramount’s “Iron Man” ranked in third this weekend, collecting $25.6 million from ticket sales at 3,915 locations. Marvel’s comic book adaptation directed by Jon Favreau and starring Robert Downey Jr. reached a domestic total of $257.8 million after a strong four-week run.

Following at No. 4 with a weekend gross of $11.1 million was 20th Century Fox’s romantic comedy “What Happens in Vegas,” which lifted its cumulative gross to $56.3 million after three weeks in release. Directed by Tom Vaughan, the film stars Ashton Kutcher and Cameron Diaz as two strangers forced to live together for six months after accidentally getting married in Vegas.

Meanwhile, “Speed Racer” slipped to No. 5 with only $5.2 million. The Warner Bros. release directed by the Wachowskis failed to score big at the box office since its release, reaching a total haul of $37.4 million. “Baby Mama” followed closely in sixth place, earning $4.2 million and brining its total gross to $53 million after five weeks in release.

At No. 7, Sony’s romantic comedy “Made of Honor” lifted its domestic total to $39.8 million, followed by “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” at No. 8 with a six-week total of $58.7 million.

Two films rounded out the top 10: New Line Cinema’s comedy “Harold and Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay” with a weekend gross of $1.2 million and a cumulative of $36.1 million, and Thomas McCarthy’s “The Visitor,” which took home $917,000 and brought its domestic total to $4.5 million.

Source: Box Office Mojo (www.boxofficemojo.com)