300 Makes $70 Million

300 was anything but spartan, reaping an estimated $70 million on around 4,800 screens at 3,103 theaters in its opening weekend. That eclipses all previous ancient battle pictures by a wide margin, including Troy and Gladiator, and ranks fifth among comic book adaptations.

If the estimate stands, the $65 million computer-generated battle picture conquered the March opening record, previously held by Ice Age: The Meltdown's $68 million. It's also the third-highest grossing start for an R-rated movie, behind The Matrix Reloaded and The Passion of the Christ. 300's opening included an estimated $3.4 million from 62 IMAX venues, surpassing Superman Returns as the biggest IMAX debut ever.

"We felt we were going to be between $35 and 40 million," said Dan Fellman, Warner Bros.' president of distribution. Fellman explained that 300 had 68 percent public awareness in tracking surveys going into the weekend and that only one movie in the past, The Fast and the Furious, had opened to $40 million or more with less than 70 percent awareness. Warner's exit polling indicated that 300's audience was 60 percent male and 52 percent under 25 years old, while the grade from moviegoer pollster CinemaScore was an "A-." (source)