'War of the Worlds' delight for Cruise's birthday
04/07/2005 - 14:35:00Tom Cruise celebrated his 43rd birthday at the top of the United States box office this weekend as War of the Worlds raked in $101.7m (€85.5m).
Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of HG Wells’s classic novel was the clear leader of the pack as cinema-goers made the most of the Independence Day holiday weekend.
The haul makes it the second biggest opener this year, topped only by Star Wars which took a record $172.8m (€145.2m) in its first five days.
War of the Worlds has made $204.2m (€171.6m) worldwide since its release.
The sci-fi adventure focuses on an alien invasion of Earth and one family’s fight to survive. It was first turned into a movie in 1953, winning an Oscar for its special effects.
Newly-engaged Cruise turned 43 yesterday.
