`X-MEN' SEQUEL SHOCKS BOX OFFICE.Byline: GREG HERNANDEZ Staff Writer ``X-Men: The Last Stand'' achieved a heroic $45.5 million in ticket sales during its first day in theaters Friday, the second-highest opening-day gross in history, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. estimates Saturday. Such a stupendous stu·pen·dous adj. 1. Of astounding force, volume, degree, or excellence; marvelous. 2. Amazingly large or great; huge. See Synonyms at enormous. debut now gives the movie a realistic shot at the Holy Grail Holy Grail: see Grail, Holy. A very desired object or outcome that borders on a sacred quest. There are several Holy Grails in the computer business. of box office records: the three-day opening of $114.8 million achieved by ``Spider-Man'' in 2002. The 20th Century Fox release is also in position to set a Memorial Day weekend record by surpassing the $95.6 million earned by ``Shrek 2'' during its second weekend in 2004. ``This is the biggest box office surprise of the year,'' said Paul Dergarabedian, president of the box office tracking firm Exhibitor Relations Co. ``We knew this film was going to have a tremendous opening weekend, but a single day over $45 million is going to take this movie into uncharted box office territory.'' The ``X-Men'' trilogy A company founded in 1979 by Gene Amdahl to commercialize wafer scale integration and build supercomputers. It raised a quarter of a billion dollars, the largest startup funding in history, but could not create its 2.5" superchip. of films is an action-adventure series about mutant heroes sworn to defend a world that hates and fears them. It is based on the popular Marvel Comics franchise. Its opening-day take finished behind only ``Star Wars: Episode III -- Revenge of the Sith,'' which set the opening-day record a year ago with $50 million. To claim second place, ``X-Men: The Last Stand'' achieved bigger first-day numbers than such heavy hitters heavy hitter n. One that is predominant, as in influence or power: "Especially when a candidate is a challenger, appearances with heavy hitters from the party lend an air of credibility" as ``Spider-Man 2'' ($40.4 million), ``Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire'' ($40.1 million) and ``Spider-Man'' ($39.4 million). Based on such a blockbuster opening day, ``X-Men'' is a lock to set the record for Memorial Day weekend openings, which is currently held by ``The Lost World: Jurassic Park,'' which took in $90.1 million when it bowed in 1997. ``X-Men: The Last Stand,'' directed by Brett Ratner, stars Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry Halle Maria Berry (IPA: /ˈhæliː ˈbɛriː/) (born August 14, 1966[1]) is an American actress. , Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart This article is about the actor. For the American soldier, see Patrick Stewart (soldier). For the actor who is sometimes credited as "Patrick Stuart", see James Patrick Stuart. Patrick Stewart . The first-day gross of $45.5 million comes close to the $54 million the first ``X-Men'' film earned during its entire first weekend in July 2000. ``X2: X-Men United,'' released in early May 2003, had an opening weekend of $85.5 million. |
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