Movie

Outpacing 'Terminator Salvation' in the three days weekend battle for the box office's top, 'Night at the Museum 2: Battle of the Smithsonian' crushes competitions over the Memorial Day holiday.

• May 26, 2009

AceShowbiz - "Night at the Museum 2: Battle of the Smithsonian" has indeed claimed a North American box office victory over "Terminator Salvation". Outperforming the fourth "Terminator" series during the three days weekend, the sequel to 2006's "Night at the Museum" continued its reign by drawing in approximately $70 million over the Memorial Day weekend.

"Night at the Museum 2" marked its leading actor Ben Stiller's biggest live-action bow. It bested over his $46.1 million opening of 2004's "Meet the Fockers" and outnumbered the first four days earning of the original "Night at the Museum" which was $42.2 million. This Memorial Day bow was on par with Stiller's 2005 animated "Madagascar" if adjusted for ticket price inflation.

"It's blown away our expectations," said senior vice president of domestic distribution for 20th Century Fox Chris Aronson of "Night at the Museum 2" impressive count. "We've nearly doubled the opening of the first 'Night at the Museum.' It's an incredibly strong No. 1 that beats out 'Terminator,' which I think most people thought would win the weekend."

"Terminator Salvation", which was predicted to collect $70 million over the four days weekend, failed to meet expectation. Settling in for the second place, the McG-direction action thriller pulled in around $53.8 million to a total of about $67.2 million since its debut on Thursday, May 21. Despite its failure to catch the #1 box office slot, Warner Bros. domestic distribution president Dan Fellman said, "Our results were excellent. This was a great result for any film."

Staying strong at number three was "Star Trek". The eleventh installment of the popular sci-fi series rang in an estimated $29.4 million, boasting a three-week-cume of about $191 million. "Angels & Demons" followed closely on the fourth place with approximately $27.7 million. The additional bow gave the Tom Hanks-starring movie a total of about $87.8 million over its 11 days in theaters.

"Dance Flick" rounded up the top five box office this Memorial Day weekend. The Wayans brothers parody movie brought in about $13.1 million. It had a lower opening than any of the movies it spoofed, but it nearly doubled the opening bow of the last parody movie, "Disaster Movie".

Top Ten Movies at Weekend Box Office for May 22 - 25:

1. "Night at the Museum 2: Battle of the Smithsonian" - $70 million
2. "Terminator Salvation" - $53.8 million
3. "Star Trek" - $29.4 million
4. "Angels & Demons" - $27.7 million
5. "Dance Flick" - $13.1 million
6. "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" - $10.1 million
7. "Ghosts of Girlfriends Past" - $4.8 million
8. "Obsessed" - $2.5 million
9. "Monsters vs. Aliens" - $1.9 million
10. "17 Again" - $1.3 million