Just a heads-up that THE OMEN's shelf life might be limited...it opened to $12.5 mil on Tuesday but by Thursday it was being kicked around by Jen Aniston!

1 The Break-Up Universal Pictures Distribution $3,146,750 $53,600,250
2 The Omen 20th Century Fox Distribution $3,058,611 $20,275,341
3 X-Men: The Last Stand 20th Century Fox, 20th Century Fox International $2,387,089 $186,166,074
4 Over the Hedge Paramount Pictures, United International Pictures $2,026,830 $119,992,022
5 The Da Vinci Code Sony Pictures Releasing, Sony Pictures Releasing International $1,594,375 $178,727,984
6 Mission: Impossible III Paramount Pictures, United International Pictures $437,928 $124,467,299
7 RV Sony Pictures Releasing $346,122 $63,011,114
8 Poseidon Warner Bros. Pictures Distribution, Warner Bros. Pictures International $315,313 $53,094,950

still, with a budget at 25 million this looks like a sequel is justified!

Here are the Friday estimates:

1. CARS $19.3 m
2. THE BREAK UP $6.7 m
3. THE OMEN $5.4 m
4. X-MEN $4.8 m
5. DA VINCI CODE $3 m
6. OVER THE HEDGE $2.9 m
7. PRARIE HOME COMPANION $1.3 m

I notice X-MEN has passed up DA VINCI CODE gross-wise....

Although internationally X3 isn't even close to touching Da Vinci (comic book movies rarwely play as well outside the USA) and is mirroring the week-by-week drops from the US almost exactly. Even in its best foreign territory, the UK, it dropped 67% in its second week.

I see Cars opened lower than industry estimates (though higher than I was expecting).

Looks like bad word of mouth is slowing down Cars already. Disney overestimated the Sunday take by a couple of million, bringing the weekend total down to $60.1m. Like X3, it seems to be dropping off a lot quicker than anyone expected and already some market analysts are downgrading Pixar stock. Of course this needs to be put into perspective - the picture did take $6om in three days! - but it could be another fast fade.