Mr. & Mrs. Smith, a spy thriller in which Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie play married assassins hired to kill each other, earned a reported $51.3 million in its first three days beginning on Friday, said distributor 20th Century Fox.

Mr. & Mrs. Smith made more than the next three films in total: last weekend's top movie "Madagascar" with $17.1 million, "Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith" with $14.9 million; and the sports comedy "The Longest Yard" with $13.5 million.

Ticket sales were disappointing for boxing drama "Cinderella Man," whose star Russell Crowe was arrested in New York last week after police said he threw a telephone at a hotel clerk.

Mr. & Mrs. Smith is the only movie that came up with more than $20 million at weekend – including Star Wars: Episode III that grossed $14.9 million.

For the 16th straight weekend, ticket sales fell behind last year's pace.

"Batman is going to have to save the day," says Paul Dergarabedian of Exhibitor Relations to USA Today. "He's our last hope to not have 2005 go down in the record books." 

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