娱乐英语新闻:"Transformers" sequel scores best opening ever for Wednesday

LOS ANGELES, June 25 (Xinhua) -- Paramount's action sequel "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" scored the besting opening day ever for a Wednesday release in the United States and Canada, taking in about 60.6 million dollars, preliminary estimates showed on Thursday.

    The first day in release of "Transformers 2," which was directed by Michael and Bay and produced by DreamWorks, also became the second best of all time after "The Dark Knight," which grossed 67.2 million dollars on its first day, a Friday, last summer.

    Previous record-holder for a Wednesday release was "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," which grossed 44.2 million dollars when opening in July 2007.

    "Transformers 2" also opened No. 1 Wednesday in almost every overseas markets, where box office estimates indicated the sequel outperformed the original "Transformers" film, which was released three years ago.

    The first "Transformers" film grossed more than 708 million dollars worldwide.

    Like its predecessor, the "Transformers" sequel is based on a line of toy action figures from toy maker Hasbro.