LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Tom Cruise's alien-invasion thriller "War of the Worlds" was the top movie around the world last weekend, erasing speculation that the star's antics in recent months could hurt its prospects at the box office.
In North America, the Steven Spielberg-directed film has earned $113.3 million for the six days since its Wednesday release, distributor Paramount Pictures said on Monday.
Its four-day sum of $77.6 million, from Friday to Monday, ranks as the second-best for a July 4 holiday weekend, behind "Spider-Man 2," which grossed $116 million in the same period last year. After six days, "Spider-Man 2" was at $180 million.
Not surprisingly, overall sales for the weekend were lower than those for the year-ago period, which set a record for the July 4 holiday. Ticket sales in North America have now fallen for 19 consecutive weekends, the longest losing streak in two decades, thanks to such factors as a dearth of stimulating fare, higher ticket prices, and competition from DVDs.
The $135 million film has already earned more than the totals of Cruise's last two films, "Collateral" and "The Last Samurai," and of Spielberg's most recent effort "The Terminal." They previously worked together on 2002's "Minority Report," which ended up with $132 million.
The foreign total stands at $102.5 million for the five days through Sunday, highlighted by $15.7 million in Britain -- records for both Cruise and Spielberg; $15.1 million in Japan; and $7.8 million in Spain. In both Russia ($5.2 million) and Taiwan ($4.2 million), it ranked as the best opening for a foreign film.
NO BACKLASH
The numbers appear to indicate that 43-year-old Cruise's unorthodox publicity campaign did not put off the fans. After firing his longtime publicist, who kept him on a tight leash, the normally strait-laced actor has been much more vocal about his Scientology beliefs. His very public romance with fiancée Katie Holmes, highlighted by a couch-jumping declaration of love for the young actress on "The Oprah Winfrey Show," also raised some eyebrows.
But, according to Paramount vice-chairman Rob Friedman, they are "totally separate issues." He said Cruise supported the movie "in full-force" and that his fan base has expanded.
Paramount, a unit of Viacom Inc., partnered on the project with closely held DreamWorks SKG, of which Spielberg is a founding partner.
"Batman Begins," the champion for the last two weeks, slipped to No. 2 in North America with a four-day sum of $18.7 million, taking its total to $154.1 million. The superhero movie, starring Christian Bale as the Caped Crusader and Holmes as his love interest, was released by Warner Bros. Pictures, a unit of Time Warner Inc.
"Mr. & Mrs. Smith," a thriller starring two other tabloid favorites, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, held steady at No. 3 with $12.7 million in its fourth week. The 20th Century Fox release has earned $146.1 million to date.
The top-10 contained one other new release, Fox's Martin Lawrence basketball comedy "Rebound," which opened at No. 7 with a disappointing $6 million. The studio had hoped it would reach $10 million. Fox is a unit of News Corp.
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