Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith tops the North American box office for the second weekend in a row, however, fails to halt a steep decrease in movie sales versus last year.
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith, the sixth and reportedly final installment in George Lucas' successful series, released by 20th Century Fox, took in $71 million this weekend, according to box-office tracking firm Exhibitor Relations Co. in Los Angeles.
Debuting in second place was the animated adventure "Madagascar" with $61 million, while Adam Sandler's remake of a 1974 film about a football game pitting prisoners against guards, "The Longest Yard," opened a close third with $60 million, according to studio estimates Monday.
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith has taken in $271 million in its first two weeks - a bigger opening than the previous two Star Wars movies in the second trilogy, Paul Dergarabedian, president of Exhibitor Relations, said.
The final installment of George Lucas' "Star Wars" saga grossed $271.2 million in the United States in its first 12 days, putting it on pace to soar beyond the $310 million total for its predecessor, "Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones."
"Revenge of the Sith" may be on track to approach the $431 million domestic haul of "Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace," said Bruce Snyder, head of distribution for 20th Century Fox, which released the "Star Wars" films.
However, it has a way to go before topping the success of the first movie in the first trilogy: "Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope." Released in 1977 that film has pulled in $461 million in box-office grosses, Dergarabedian said.
And $461 million in 1977 is not the same as in 2005, let me add.
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