BEIJING, May 29 (Xinhuanet) -- "X-Men: The Last Stand" reaped an estimated 107 million U.S. dollars in the three-day opening from Friday to Sunday, the largest ever for Memorial Day weekend and the fourth-biggest in box office history in the United States.

    The new film, whose returning cast of mutants includes Hugh Jackman as the heroic Wolverine and Ian McKellen as the evil Magneto, was directed by Brett Ratner, best known for the "Rush Hour" films. It had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival last week.

    Distributor 20th Century Fox said it hoped the film would open near the 86-million-dollar bow of its 2003 predecessor "X2: X-Men United."

    The final installment of the "X-Men" superhero trilogy opened in 3,690 theaters and grossed a whopping 28,997 dollars per theater. "The Da Vinci Code," which opened with 77 million dollars a week ago as the highest opening this year, slipped to No. 2.

    Sales data were not available as most studios were planning to report estimates for the U.S. Memorial Day holiday weekend on Monday. Final data will be available on Tuesday.

    However, "Da Vinci Code" distributor Columbia Pictures said the film enjoyed strong standing in foreign territories. The international total stands at 320 million dollars. As of Thursday evening, the film had earned 102 million dollars in North America.

    The three-day record for a film opening on a Friday is held by 2002's "Spider-Man" (115 million dollars), followed by 2005's "Star Wars: Episode III -- Revenge of the Sith (108.4 million dollars) and 2004's "Shrek 2" (108 million dollars). Enditem

    (Agencies)