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Los Angeles - Hollywood has hustled up a hangover for the record books.
The Hangover Part II set a new high for comedy debuts with $105.8m over the long Memorial Day weekend in the US, according to studio estimates on Sunday.
The blockbuster sequel also led Hollywood to a new revenue record of around $280m for the holiday weekend, according to box office tracker Hollywood.com.
That surpassed the previous record of $254.6m in 2007. But factoring in today's higher admission prices, more tickets were sold over the Memorial Day holiday that year than this past weekend.
"If you can enjoy a hangover, this is one to enjoy," said Dan Fellman, head of distribution for Warner Bros., which releases The Hangover flicks. "People love these characters. They can do no wrong."
Hollywood is back
The movie reunites stars Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms and Zach Galifianakis as they awake in another haze and attempt to piece together the mayhem of their drunken night in Bangkok.
Opening at number two behind The Hangover Part II was another sequel, DreamWorks Animation's Kung Fu Panda 2, with $62.2m.
In barely a month, Hollywood has hurtled out of a box office slide that lingered all winter, when revenues were down as much as 23 percent compared to the previous year's.
Revenues still are down 8.3 percent compared to 2010's, but studio executives expect to erase that deficit with an upcoming summer line-up that includes Harry Potter, Transformers and Cars sequels.
"Every week, you've got another monster movie," Fellman said. "Give us another month, and we'll be ahead of last year."
The Hangover Part II set a new high for comedy debuts with $105.8m over the long Memorial Day weekend in the US, according to studio estimates on Sunday.
The blockbuster sequel also led Hollywood to a new revenue record of around $280m for the holiday weekend, according to box office tracker Hollywood.com.
That surpassed the previous record of $254.6m in 2007. But factoring in today's higher admission prices, more tickets were sold over the Memorial Day holiday that year than this past weekend.
"If you can enjoy a hangover, this is one to enjoy," said Dan Fellman, head of distribution for Warner Bros., which releases The Hangover flicks. "People love these characters. They can do no wrong."
Hollywood is back
The movie reunites stars Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms and Zach Galifianakis as they awake in another haze and attempt to piece together the mayhem of their drunken night in Bangkok.
Opening at number two behind The Hangover Part II was another sequel, DreamWorks Animation's Kung Fu Panda 2, with $62.2m.
In barely a month, Hollywood has hurtled out of a box office slide that lingered all winter, when revenues were down as much as 23 percent compared to the previous year's.
Revenues still are down 8.3 percent compared to 2010's, but studio executives expect to erase that deficit with an upcoming summer line-up that includes Harry Potter, Transformers and Cars sequels.
"Every week, you've got another monster movie," Fellman said. "Give us another month, and we'll be ahead of last year."
