'Revolutions' Loads $28M Worldwide on Thursday
HOLLYWOOD (Box Office Mojo)—The Matrix Revolutions raked in $28 million worldwide on Thursday, down 35% from its opening day and propelling its global total to $71.1 million in two days.

Playing in 107 territories overseas, Revolutions pulled in $17 million, down 9.6% from Wednesday's $18.8 million haul. The international tally stands at $35.8 million after two days. The Matrix and The Matrix Reloaded were overseas phenoms, grossing $289 million and $454 million respectively by the end of their runs.

Though the United States and Canada accounted for $24,311,365 of the $43.1 million worldwide opening day, the ratio shifted in favor of the overseas markets on Thursday. Domestically, business was down 54.7% to $11,003,481, bringing the two-day tally to $35,314,846.

Revolutions' second day domestic drop was in line with other massive fan-driven mid-week openers. Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace tumbled 56.9% from its record $28,542,349 Wednesday opening to $12,307,918. Slightly buoyed by the Christmas holiday, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers fell 46.9% from its $26,159,972 bow to $13,878,712, while The Fellowship of the Ring took a similar hit.

If Revolutions follows a similar trajectory as those pictures, that would mean an opening weekend of around $58 million, enough to rank in the top 20 of all debuts, the top five of November bows and likely second only to Reloaded among R-rated movies.

The decidedly mixed reaction to Reloaded among moviegoers undoubtedly hurt Revolutions, but Revolutions was destined to make less even if everyone loved Reloaded. Reloaded had four years of pent-up demand, whereas Revolutions had merely six months. The fact that there was no break from The Matrix in those six months - the full theatrical cycle, the IMAX release, the DVD release, etc. - only compounded matters. The Matrix has seemingly been in the air non-stop since May, lessening the event status of Revolutions.

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