‘Phantom Menace’ Sprints to $250 Million

“Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace” reached the $250-million mark in 19 days, beating the 36-day record previously held by “Titanic.”

But “Star Wars” has a long way to go before it can match James Cameron’s saga of the doomed ocean liner, which grossed more than $600 million in North America and $1.2 billion overseas.

“ ‘Titanic’ was sort of a marathon, while ‘Star Wars’ is more of a sprint,” said Paul Dergarabedian, president of the box-office tracking firm Exhibitors Relations Co.

The overall weekend box office was down more than 10% compared to last year, but is expected to pick up this weekend with the release of “Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me,” followed by other potential blockbusters such as “Big Daddy” and “Tarzan.”

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Three-day gross/ Screens/ Weeks in Movie (Studio) Total (millions) Average Release 1. “Star Wars” $32.9 3,024 3 (Fox) $255.8 $10,877 2. “Notting Hill” $15.0 2,752 2 (Universal) $49.4 $5,455 3. “Instinct” $10.4 2,059 1 (Disney/Touchstone) $10.4 $5,046 4. “The Mummy” $7.4 3,411 5 (Universal) $127.5 $2,175 5. “Entrapment” $3.8 2,590 6 (Fox) $75.0 $1,460 6. “The Matrix” $2.5 2,045 10 (Warner Bros.) $158.3 $1,200 7. “The Thirteenth Floor”’ $2.0 1,815 2 (Sony/Columbia) $7.4 $1,104 8. “Never Been Kissed” $1.2 2,085 9 (Fox) $50.6 $557 9. “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” $1.1 1,005 4 (Fox Searchlight) $13.0 $1,083 10. “Election” $854,684 827 7 (Paramount) $12.3 $1,033 * “Limbo” $139,634 15 1 (Sony/Screen Gems) $139,634 $9,309

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SOURCE: Exhibitor Relations Co.