Pamela McClintock of Variety
Steven Spielberg's "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" crystallized into the biggest opening for both the filmmaker and Paramount as the classic action-adventure franchise returned to the bigscreen after an 18-year slumber to grab a worldwide gross of $311.1 million.
"Crystal Skull"--buoyed by baby boomers and their kids--grossed an estimated $126 million domestically for the four-day Memorial Day weekend, the second best showing ever for the holiday frame. Opening on Thursday, pic's five-day cume was an estimated $151.1 million from 4,260 runs.
Overseas, where the Harrison Ford topliner began playing on Wednesday, "Crystal Skull" grossed $160 million in its debut. Weekend take of $146 million is the fifth best international opening of all time.
Stateside, the only Memorial Day opener to gross more was last year's "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End," which made $139.8 million in its domestic debut.
Worldwide gross of "Crystal Skull" bested the debut of "War of the Worlds," the previous best opener for both Spielberg and Paramount.
"Crystal Skull," produced by George Lucas' LucasFilms, played much more like a family film than a sequel. With sequels, the busiest days are Friday, or Thursday if the film goes out early. That wasn't the case with "Crystal Skull," which saw a hefty 19% jump from Friday to Saturday.
Elsewhere at the domestic Memorial Day box office, Disney sequel "Chronicles of Narnia" declined a steep 58% in its second weekend to an estimated $23 million from 3,919 runs for the three-days, according to Rentrak. Four-day haul was an estimated $28.6 million for a cume of $96.7 million in the film's first 11 days. Pic placed No. 2 for the holiday frame.
Coming in No. 3 was Par's B.O. hit "Iron Man," which declined just 37% in its fourth frame to $20.1 million from 3,915 for the three day. Four-day haul was $25.6 million for a cume of $257.8.
Twentieth Century Fox's Cameron Diaz-Ashton Kutcher laffer "What Happens in Vegas" continued to thrive, serving as counter-programming to the bigger summer tentpoles. For the three-days, "Vegas" dipped only 35% to an estimated $9 million from 3,188 runs. Four-day take was an estimated $11.1 million for a cume of $56.4 million in the film's third frame.
Placing No. 5 at the holiday box office was Warner Bros.' "Speed Racer," which declined 51% in its third frame to $4 million from 3,112 runs for the three-days. Four-day gross was an estimated $5.2 million for a cume of $37.4 million.
On the specialty side, Overture's "The Visitor" made the top 10 chart for the second weekend in a row. Film placed No. 10 for the Memorial Day frame, grossing an estimated $917,000 from 270 runs for a cume of $4.6 million in its seventh frame....
Joshua Rich of Entertainment Weekly:
Harrison Ford's adventure dug up a huge (but not record-breaking) opening of $126 mil over the Memorial Day weekend. Read More...
What Happens in Vegas... continues to surprise while Speed Racer sputters...For a nostalgia infused flick with a big budget to not even make it to $40 million is just plan awful...
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