Birthday boy Cruise on top of the world

LOS ANGELES - Tom Cruise celebrated his 43rd birthday on Sunday atop the holiday box office in North America with War of the Worlds, the costly alien-invasion thriller directed by Steven Spielberg.

The film sold US$101.7 million ($149.4) worth of tickets during its first five days of release, a solid number but far short of the record US$152 ($181.3) million that Spider-Man 2 earned during the same time frame of last year's US Independence Day holiday weekend.

War of the Worlds did, however, beat the opening mark of incumbent box office champion Batman Begins, which earned US$72.9 US$72.9 ($107) million during its first five days two weeks ago, albeit without the benefit of a holiday crowd.

Because the year-ago period set a record for July 4 holiday sales, the weekend box office is expected to fall for a 19th consecutive weekend. A clearer picture will emerge on Monday, because most studios did not report figures on Sunday. Batman Begins led the box office last weekend with US$27.6 million.

War of the Worlds, budgeted at about US$135 million, began its campaign on Wednesday with US$21.3 million, topping the US$15 million Wednesday start of Batman Begins, but not the $40 million bow of Spider-Man 2.

Saturday's sales of US$22.7 million represent the biggest single-day haul for both Paramount and Cruise.

For the "traditional" three-day period beginning on Friday, the film earned US$66 million, the second-highest number for 2005, behind the US$108.4 million weekend for Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith. That film opened on a Thursday with midnight screenings, making comparisons with War difficult.

War of the Worlds also opened globally on Wednesday, and has earned US$75 million overseas during its first four days, Paramount said. A five-day figure will be issued later on Sunday.

Some Hollywood commentators have speculated that the movie's prospects could be hurt by Cruise's unorthodox publicity campaign. The usually strait-laced actor has raised eyebrows by giddily professing his love for fiancee Katie Holmes, and defiantly extolling the superiority of Scientology over psychiatry.

But the critics liked the movie, which is based on the novel by Victorian writer HG Wells. Cruise plays a blue-collar worker who flees with his two children from aliens who are destroying everything in their path. Paramount partnered on the project with closely held DreamWorks SKG, of which Spielberg is a founding partner.

- REUTERS