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Force not with box office
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May 24, 1999: 1:24 p.m. ET
'Star Wars' prequel takes in $61.8M in first weekend, trailing 'Lost World'
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - The Force was strong over the weekend, but it was no match for the old T-Rex.
While "Star Wars Episode I; The Phantom Menace" racked up $61.8 million at theaters over its first weekend, the highly anticipated prequel did not have the box office bite of the dinosaur epic "The Lost World: Jurassic Park," which took in $72 million on its first weekend, Memorial Day weekend in 1997.
"The Phantom Menace," which opened Wednesday, did beat "The Lost World" over the longer haul.
The film took in an estimated $102.7 between Wednesday and Sunday, making it the first film to pass the $100 million mark in a five-day period. This broke the $98.8 million record set by the "Jurassic Park" sequel.
"The Phantom Menace" also pulled in a record $28.5 million for its first day of release.
But the George Lucas extravaganza did not make $120 million or more that it was expected earn by the weekend.
"The Phantom Menace" is distributed by Twentieth Century Fox. It's parent company Fox Entertainment Group was down 1-1/8 at 25-13/16.
--with staff and wire reports
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