'Spider-man 2' Soars Over Box-Office Record For 6-Day Open
LOS ANGELES (AP)--"Spider-Man 2" pulled in a record $180 million in its first six days and obliterated other box-office highs over the long Fourth of July weekend.
The "Spider-Man 2" haul was well above the previous best six-day opening of $146.7 million set last year by "The Matrix Reloaded."
"I think our hope was to go into the heart of the summer and grab the biggest six days possible. That's pretty much what happened," Jeff Blake, vice chairman for "Spider-Man 2" distributor Sony Corp. (6758.TO), said Monday.
"Spider-Man 2" took in $115.8 million from Friday to Monday, according to Sony estimates. That put it far ahead of the previous best four-day holiday gross of $95.6 million set by "Shrek 2" over Memorial Day weekend this year.
With $152.6 million in its first five days, "Spider-Man 2" also shattered the $129 million record of "Shrek 2" for biggest Wednesday-Sunday debut.
From Friday to Sunday, "Spider-Man 2" took in $88.3 million, missing out on the best three-day weekend record of $114.8 million held by the first "Spider-Man."
The first movie opened on Friday, so its initial business all came on the weekend, while the sequel already had rung up about $64 million in ticket sales Wednesday and Thursday. "Spider-Man 2" also had a comparatively quiet Sunday on the Fourth of July, when many people focused on outdoor activities such as parades, picnics and fireworks.
"Spider-Man 2" originally was scheduled to open the Friday before the Fourth of July, but the studio moved it up two days to get a jump on the holiday weekend.
"If they didn't have a good movie, I think they would have waited," said Paul Dergarabedian , president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations Co. "But they were confident enough to put it out on Wednesday and let the buzz build, and it really paid off."
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Monday at North American theaters, according to Exhibitor Relations: (Final figures will be released Tuesday.)
1. "Spider-Man 2," $115.8 million.
2. "Fahrenheit 9/11," $21 million.
3. "White Chicks," $12 million.
4. "Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story," $10.45 million.
5. "The Notebook," $10.3 million.
6. "The Terminal," $10.2 million.
7. "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban," $8.1 million.
8. "Shrek 2," $7.9 million.
9. (tie) "Garfield: The Movie," $3.6 million.
9. (tie) "Two Brothers," $3.6 million.
蜘蛛侠2》刷新六天首映票房纪录
《蜘蛛侠2》六天首映中高创1.8亿美元的票房纪录，与7月4日长周末期间上演的其他热点影片相比，票房收入首屈一指。
《蜘蛛侠2》的成功令此前最佳六天首映票房纪录保持者《骇客帝国2：重装上阵》(The Matrix Reloaded)黯然失色。《骇客帝国2：重装上阵》在去年的六天首映中，票房收入高达1.467亿美元。
《蜘蛛侠2》发行商索尼公司(Sony Corp., SNE, 又名:新力公司)估计，从上周五至本周一，《蜘蛛侠2》的票房收入达1.158亿美元，这使其轻松超越此前的四天假日票房收入纪录保持者《怪物史雷克2》。《怪物史雷克2》在今年阵亡将士纪念日周末期间于全美公映。
《蜘蛛侠2》最初计划在7月4日前的周五首映，但是电影公司提前2天放映，以使其在假日周末公演中大获成功。
票房纪录追踪公司Exhibitor Relations Co.总裁Paul Dergarabedian认为，如果《蜘蛛侠》不是一部好影片，电影公司就会将其推后放映。然而，电影公司信心十足，大胆在周三推出，让美国观众一睹为快，而《蜘蛛侠2》也果真让电影公司赚得盆满钵满。
