Variety reports that midnight screenings of TERMINATOR SALVATION last night (technically, this morning) earned$3-million, launching the extended Memorial Day weekend with an early explosive bang. By way of comparison, X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE earned almost $5-million at midnight screenings, and WATCHMEN took in $4.6-million the midnight before its official opening.
TERMINATOR SALVATION is in 3,580 theatres today (although not all of them screened it early). Hollywood prognosticators expect it to be the summer’s top-grossing film, thanks to the franchise’s appeal to male viewers.