X Men: The Last Stand", the final installment of a Marvel comics trilogy, grossed 107 million dollars in its first weekend in North America, becoming the fourth biggest debut of all time, according to estimates. Box office tracker Exhibitor Relations Co. said "X Men" easily pushed "Da Vinci Code" into second place at the box office, only a week after the religious thriller took in 77 million dollars for its first weekend.
In the all-time rankings for the United States and Canada, "X Men" came behind the 2002 movie "Spider Man", which opened with 114.8 million dollars; last year's "Episode III: The Revenge of the Sith", the sixth feature film in the "Star Wars" saga, at 108.4 million dollars; and "Shrek 2" at 108 million dollars in 2004.
The new movie, based on the Marvel comic book series about a band of mutants, has been given rave reviews. It follows the "X Men" debut movie in 2000, which earned 54 million dollars on its first weekend, and the 2003 "X2: X-Men United" which launched with 86 million dollars i takings.
It stars Hugh Jackman as the heroic Wolverine and Ian McKellen as the evil Magneto. It was directed by Brett Ratner and was first shown at last week's Cannes film festival.
Studios are delaying complete estimates for weekend takings because of the US Memorial Day holiday weekend. The main estimates are not expected to be released until Monday when the holiday ends.
