The most recent Indiana Jones film more than recouped its big budget with an estimated $294 million in global box office sales through the long weekend, according to studio estimates Monday.
Families went in droves to catch Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, an adventure starring Harrison Ford as the whip-cracking archaeologist who took 19 years to return to the big screen.
Paramount Pictures estimated the action sequel made US$151.1 million in the US and Canada from Thursday to the holiday Monday and US$143 million around the rest of the world, though not including Monday.
It marked the second biggest US Memorial Day weekend opening ever, behind only Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, which made US$153 million domestically from Thursday to Monday last year.
Nearly a third of the domestic audience was made up of parents with their children, said Rob Moore, president of Paramount Worldwide Distribution.
"Adults really drove this opening. This is one of their favourite franchises and they couldn't wait to take their kids with them," Moore said.
The film cost a reported US$185 million to make, even with the principal talent - Ford, director Steven Spielberg and writer George Lucas - deferring their usual fees for a greater share of the profits.
The first three Indy movies raked in US$1.2 billion worldwide.
Marketing costs were undisclosed, although the latest Indiana Jones received a major push from Paramount. DVDs of the first three movies were re-released, they aired on TV days before the opening and huge billboards sprung up.
The final trailer for the movie rolled before the opening of Marvel Studios' Iron Man, which was also distributed by Paramount, three weeks earlier.
"It's been a pretty good month," Moore said. "We started the month with Iron Man and finished with Indiana Jones."
AP
source: newshub archive
