Box Office: Harbor Wins Weekend, Loses War

May 28, 2001 -- It's plain ridiculous to characterize a $75 million opening weekend as being any kind of disappointing. But you just know that somewhere in Hollywood, teeth are being gnashed behind closed doors.

The critics have carped, the bombs have dropped, and the biggest opening weekend of all time still belongs to Jurassic Park: The Lost World. But the real sting is No. 2: The biggest opening weekend of 2001, the one that's good for second place on the all-time list, remains the exclusive property of … The Mummy Returns.

Ouch!

Based on estimates released this morning, Pearl Harbor took in $60 million on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, and should pile up an additional $15.1 million today. The Friday-Sunday tally is the fourth-biggest opening weekend ever, after The Lost World ($72.1 million), The Mummy Returns ($68.1 million), and Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace ($64.8 million).

Harbor didn't even challenge the number many observers expected to fall by the wayside, The Lost World's four-day haul of $90,161,880. That number represents the best Memorial Day weekend gross ever posted, and on that list, at least, Ben Affleck and friends can claim first bridesmaid status, stepping past Mission: Impossible 2's take of $70.8 million.

The marketing campaign for director Michael Bay and producer Jerry Bruckheimer's revisitation of the "date which will live in infamy" has been the talk of the industry and the envy of distributor Buena Vista's rivals for weeks. Last week, Harbor's staggering tracking numbers led many to predict an unprecedented four-day haul in excess of $100 million.

Shrek, Moulin Rouge Keep Them ComingSomewhat lost in the furor over Harbor's bid for top banana status is the shockingly strong second-weekend performance of Shrek. DreamWorks' animated fairy tale spoof, which features the voices of Mike Myers and Eddie Murphy, took in approximately $42.5 million Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, and posted an estimated four-day tally of $54.2 million

If the estimate holds, Shrek's second three-day weekend will (narrowly) eclipse its opening, a rare feat indeed. The family-friendly comedy has now taken in slightly more than $110 million after 11 days in theaters.

And though its total gross landed it in 26th place overall, Baz Lurhmann's Moulin Rouge continued to do monstrous business on just two screens. Its four-day tally of approximately $254,098 averages out to an eye-popping $127,000 per screen. After 11 days of limited release, the musical romance, which expands to theaters nationwide next weekend, has taken in an estimated $571,650.

The Top 10 films for May 25-28, 2001:Pearl Harbor, $75.1 millionShrek, $54.2 millionThe Mummy Returns, $19.1 millionA Knight's Tale, $9.3 millionAngel Eyes, $6.3 millionBridget Jones's Diary, $4 millionAlong Came a Spider, $2.2 millionMemento, $1.9 millionBlow, $1.3 millionDriven, $1.2 million

Final figures will be released Tuesday.