War of the Worlds, the first major blockbuster to bring September 11 imagery to the multiplex, has broken a number of records on its release but failed to revive the box office.

War of the Worlds earned an estimated $21.5 million on its third day to push its domestic total to $57.2 million. The sci-fi thriller, budgeted at $132 million, is playing in 3,908 theaters.

Spielberg's update of the H.G. Wells' classic about invaders from outer space earned about $21.3 million at the domestic box office when it debuted Wednesday, Paramount Pictures said.

The haul marked the must successful first day for a Cruise movie, the studio said.

Not only War of the Worlds it the year's second-biggest opening day behind Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith.

War of the Worlds is the biggest opening for a movie starring Tom Cruise and also for any movie made by Steven Spielberg, according to distributor UIP.

The box office figures dismiss fears of a backlash against Tom Cruise after his dubious publicity exploits of recent weeks.

As big a debut as War of the Worlds may have, it opens over the same long weekend as last year's Spider-Man 2, whose record $180.1 million US in its first six days paced the industry to its best Fourth of July ever.

"It's too early to say if this is something endemic. The most apparent answer still seems to be the movies themselves have lacked the same excitement, to put it mildly," said Brandon Gray, president of Box Office Mojo, an online site that tracks movie grosses.

Even with a big Independence Day weekend expected from War of the Worlds, it may not be enough to lift the industry out of its longest modern box-office slump. Domestic movie revenues have declined for 18 straight weekends compared to 2004. 

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