In a battle of sequels Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, which earned an estimated $70 million, triumphed over Terminator Salvation ($53.5 million) to achieve box office supremacy over the 4-day Memorial Day weekend.  In spite of competition for the science fiction audience from the 4th Terminator film, J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek dropped just 47%, while Angels and Demons declined just 53%.  The strong performances by the top two holdovers helped the over box office to a 1% gain over 2008, when Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull debuted to a gargantuan $152 million over the 5-day Thursday-to-Monday period.

Weekend Box Office (Studio Estimates): May 22-24, 2009

IMAX theaters provided an estimated $5.4 million of Night at the Museum total.  As expected the film drew a family audience (48%), but it also demonstrated a broader appeal.  55% of its audience was under 25 and the Museum crowd was evenly split between males and females.

In contrast the audience for Terminator Salvation was 63% male with 58% of the crowd in the 18-34 demographic.  The new Terminator film, which took in $67.2 million over its 5-day Thursday to Monday debut, ranks as something of a mild disappointment since its 5-day total was well below most analysts’ projections as well as that of Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, whose $72.4 million debut in 2003 would come out to $88 million at today’s ticket prices.  With a budget of $200 million (plus marketing expenses) Warner Bros. is hoping that Terminator Salvation, which posted only the 8th best 3-day total of 2009 so far, can avoid the massive second weekend declines that now seem commonplace for big budget summer blockbusters.

Despite losing its IMAX theaters, Star Trek finished in third place and managed to add $29.4 million to its total over the 4-day weekend.  The new Trek movie has now earned $191 million and this week it will pass Monsters vs. Aliens to become the #1 film of 2009 so far.  Trek could end up north of $250 million and appears to be the strongest film released so far this year, though Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian could provide some stiff competition if it can survive competition for its family audience in this coming weeks from Pixar’s well-reviewed (100% positive on Rotten Tomatoes so far) Up.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine remained in the top ten during its fourth weekend in release finishing at #6 and adding $10.1 million, which brings its cumulative to $165.3 million.  Even if it finishes under $200 million domestically, the Wolverine movie has already brought in $157 million overseas and appears destined for well over $350 million worldwide.