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The movie's success underscored the lingering public yearning for old-fashioned heroic adventure films. The movie's fedora-wearing star, Harrison Ford, 65 -- now a senior citizen but still a major box office attraction -- drew rave reviews in the role he first created in the 1981 blockbuster "Raiders of the Lost Ark."
"Indiana Jones had been absent for 20 years, and that's quite exceptional for this film to come out and do that kind of business. It's one of the top 10 openers of all time," said Bock.
The movie took in 151.1 million dollars in North America over the five-day holiday weekend (Thursday to Monday) as Americans marked Memorial Day on Monday.
While the film's debut has been impressive debut, analysts were predicting a downturn in overall theater receipts this year.
For the Memorial Day weekend, total earnings were projected to decline 15 percent from last year, Exhibitor Relations said.
Final box office figures for the weekend were due later Tuesday.
