'Matrix Revolutions' Programs $43.1M Worldwide
HOLLYWOOD (Box Office Mojo)—The Matrix Revolutions entered 18,000 screens at 10,013 theaters in 109 markets on Wednesday in a massive, simultaneous global assault and emerged with a $43.1 million opening day worldwide, according to distributor Warner Bros.

Most of that sum was made on the domestic front. The conclusion of the Wachowski Bros.' cyber-epic trilogy yielded $24,311,365 at 3,502 theaters in the United States and Canada, ranking as the third biggest Wednesday bow of all time behind Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace's $28,542,349 and The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers' $26,159,972. Among all opening days, Revolutions landed at No. 11.

By comparison, the last installment The Matrix Reloaded took in $37,508,303 at 3,603 theaters (not including $5 million in previews from the previous night) on its opening day six months ago - Thursday, May 15. Like Reloaded, though, Revolutions's bow summarily trounced the original Matrix, which started with $4,803,310 at 2,704 sites on Wednesday, March 31, 1999.

Revolutions can also boast a first day roughly twice the debut of the third installment of that other Warner Bros.-distributed "man vs. machine" franchise—Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines grabbed $12,435,320 out of the gate at 3,504 locations last July. It went on to have a $44,041,440 opening weekend and $150,371,112 final gross.

For further perspective, Revolutions has grossed more in one day than Brother Bear has after five days at over 3,000 theaters. The Disney animated feature has dug up $24,035,281 so far, and, like other movies in the marketplace, took a hit with the advent of the latest Matrix.

Reloaded scored the second biggest opening weekend ever—$91,774,413 - and has pulled in $281,553,689 so far. The first Matrix posted a $27,788,331 debut weekend and enjoyed a leggy run to $171,479,930.

Should Revolutions follow a similar trend as other recent uber-mid-week openers, it may come in at close to $60 million this weekend for a five-day haul of around $95 million. Reloaded had $144,391,066 after five days.

Revolutions' drop-off in opening weekend potency relative to Reloaded is similar to what Back to the Future Part III suffered compared to Part II nearly 14 years ago. Part III pulled in $19,089,645 out of the gate, compared to Part II's $27,835,125. Like Reloaded and Revolutions, both Back to the Future sequels were made simultaneously, debuted four years after the original and were released six months apart. Like Reloaded, Part II was met with a mixed reaction from moviegoers, contributing to the third installment's lower gross.

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