'MATRIX' FLIES HIGH FOR OPENING WEEKEND.

Byline: Greg Hernandez Staff Writer

Living up to its prerelease hype, ``The Matrix Reloaded'' got off to a sensational start in movie theaters, on its way to what looks like a record- breaking opening weekend, according to box office figures released Friday.

Delighted Warner Bros. executives claimed their studio broke the industry's opening-day record with its new blockbuster, but box-office analysts said the approximately $5 million grossed from Wednesday night preview showings should be subtracted from the Thursday grosses.

That would place the sci-fi flick on par with ``Spider-Man,'' which grossed a record $39.4 million on its opening day last May. Without the Wednesday receipts figured in, ``Reloaded'' had an opening day gross of about $38 million.

The sequel to 1999's ``The Matrix'' opened on a record 8,517 screens and now heads into the weekend chasing the all-time opening weekend record of $114.8 million set last year by ``Spider-Man.'' The film easily surpassed the single weekday record of $30.1 million set on the same day last year by '`Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones.''

``Reloaded'' is certain to set a record for the biggest opening ever for an R-rated film. The current record-holder is ``Hannibal,'' which had a $58 million opening weekend in Feb. 2001.

`` 'The Matrix's' numbers are beyond what anybody thought,'' said Dan Fellman, Warner Bros. president of distribution. ``It's more than a film; it has become a cultural phenomenon.''

From multiplexes to neighborhood theaters, the crowds showed up in force Wednesday night and Thursday, said Nora Dashwood, chief operating officer of the Pacific Theatres chain.

``We had planned for a big opening, but it opened stronger than we thought it would in theaters across the board,'' Dashwood said. ``Neighborhood theaters even had to add midnight showings Wednesday to accommodate the crowds, and we don't usually see that outside the multiplexes.''

The film has been the year's most eagerly anticipated movie, and its release has been marked by unprecedented advance online ticket sales, a successful marketing blitz and the debut of a new video game ``Enter the Matrix,'' which has already shipped four million copies.

`` 'Reloaded' has set a new standard for the potential box-office for an R-rated film,'' said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box office tracker Exhibitor Relations Co.

``It really is an amazing achievement considering the limitations that we thought the R-rating placed on a films' ability to generate box office. Warner Bros. has fantastic marketing on the film. I don't think there's a person on earth who didn't know about it. The awareness level on this film was so high.''

``Reloaded'' got a jump on its official Thursday opening in 3,603 theaters with 10 p.m. showings on Wednesday at 2,750 theaters. The studio has declined to separate the sneak preview ticket sales from Thursday's grosses, which has led to a discrepancy over the opening-day record.

Some studios have broken out preview grosses from opening-day numbers like New Line Cinema did last year for ``Austin Powers in Goldmember,'' while others, including Warner Bros., do not.

``There's no industry standard for counting previews,'' said Brandon Gray, editor of Box Office Mojo.com. ``So to be truly technical, you have to go with what was made on the specific day.''

Gray predicts that the four-day total for ``Reloaded'' will be somewhere between $130-$150 million, which would surpass the $126 million earned by ``Spider-Man'' in its first four days. But he thinks the ``Spider-Man'' opening weekend record is safe.

``If Warner Bros. really wanted to grab that opening weekend record, they probably would have released the film on a Friday,'' Gray said. ``It set an incredible record for a Thursday, but I think it's burned off too much business. This is a heavy fan favorite, and the fans were out in force Wednesday and Thursday to see this thing.''

If ``Reloaded'' is not able to surpass the ``Spider-Man'' opening weekend record, it is widely expected to at least soar past the $90.2 million earned by ``Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone'' for second place. It will be measured against the all-time record by its box-office take from Friday through Sunday.

``Now it's a matter of waiting for the weekend and seeing how things unfold,'' Fellman said. ``This movie has taken on a life of its own. We expect it to have huge success for weeks to come.'

Greg Hernandez, [phone]

greg.hernandez(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

photo, box

Photo:

(color) ``The Matrix Reloaded'' opened Thursday with the second- highest-single-day gross in film history:

Box:

BOX OFFICE: RELOADED

Source: Exhibitor Relations

Jon Gerung/Staff Artist