'Star Wars' Blasts Box Office Records With $108.5 Million

NEW YORK (Star Wars Fans Website) - The last of the Star Wars movies has done what no movie in history has ever accomplished — sold US$50 million worth of tickets in a single day. Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith grossed US$50,013,859 from showings at 3,661 theaters and more than 9,000 screens around the United States on Thursday, including special midnight shows, according to box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations. That beat the one-day record set in May 2004 by Shrek 2, which sold US$44.8 million on a single Saturday — its fourth day in theaters.

As movie buffs flock to catch the final instalment of Star Wars : Episode III - Revenge of the Sith , Lucas is a happy man. Marking an impressive debut, Revenge of the Sith raked in around $16.5 million from 2,900 midnight screenings Thursday, according to box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations. Oscar-winner The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King had managed about $8 million domestically from 2,100 midnight shows in 2003.

The George Lucas film, which features the transformation of Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker into the evil Darth Vader, also beat the opening day record held by Spider-Man 2, which grossed US$40.4 million when it opened on a Wednesday last June.

'Fifty million is a good opening weekend, let alone a single day,' said Paul Dergarabedian, president of Exhibitor Relations.
The film debuted on 2,900 screens at midnight Thursday. The take from that one showing alone was US$16.5 million, which beat the previous record of US$8 million set by The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King in 2003.

Director George Lucas promised his audience that 'The pieces will fall together, and the connections will be made' in Revenge of the Sith. All you will say when you have watched it is, 'Promise delivered'! It is almost assured Star Wars will push past the US$100 million mark for its opening weekend. The record for a three-day weekend is held by the first Spider-Man, which grossed US$114.8 million in May 2002.

1. Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith - $108,500,000
2. Monster-in-Law - $14,350,000
3. Kicking and Screaming - $10,531,000
4. Crash - $5,500,000
5. Unleashed - $3,841,000
6. Kingdom of Heaven - $3,350,000
7. House of Wax - $3,159,000
8. The Interpreter - $2,802,000
9. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - $2,006,000
10. Mindhunters - $909,000