The final film in the "X-Men" superhero trilogy blew past last weekend's box office champ, "The Da Vinci Code," to post the fourth-highest all-time opening in North America, according to studio estimates issued on Sunday.

"X-Men: The Last Stand" sold about US$107 million worth of tickets in the three-day period from Friday to Sunday, said distributor 20th Century Fox. The News Corp.-owned studio said it hoped the film would open near the $86 million bow of its 2003 predecessor "X2: X-Men United."

By contrast, "Da Vinci" opened with US$77 million a week ago, the highest bow so far this year. The Vatican conspiracy thriller slipped to No 2, but sales data were not available as most studios were planning to report estimates for the US Memorial Day holiday weekend.

However, "Da Vinci Code" distributor Columbia Pictures said the film earned US$92 million in most foreign territories, and enjoyed strong holds in such countries as Germany and Japan. The international total stands at US$320 million. As of Thursday evening, the film had earned US$102 million in North America.

Columbia, a unit of Sony Corp., said its film earned more overseas than "X-Men," which also opened internationally on Friday, but neither Columbia nor Fox had any foreign data for the new arrival.

The three-day record for a film opening on a Friday is held by 2002's "Spider-Man" (US$115 million), followed by 2005's "Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith (US$108.4 million) and 2004's "Shrek 2" (US$108 million).

Fox said "X-Men: The Last Stand" cost about US$165 million to make. The studio licensed the comic book franchise from Marvel Entertainment Inc. The first film in the series, "X-Men" opened to US$54 million in 2000, and went on to earn US$157 million. The sequel finished with US$215 million.

The new film, whose returning cast of mutants includes Hugh Jackman as the heroic Wolverine and Ian McKellen as the evil Magneto, was directed by Brett Ratner, best known for the "Rush Hour" films. It had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival last week, and earned rave reviews unlike "Da Vinci Code."

In addition to taking over from "Da Vinci" as the highest opening so far this year, the new "X-Men" beats the nine-year-old Memorial Day weekend record held by "The Lost World: Jurassic Park," which opened to US$72 million during its first three days. Steven Spielberg's dinosaur picture earned an additional US$18 million during the Monday holiday.

Source: China Daily