Steven Spielberg's epic "War of the Worlds" raked in 34.6 million dollars worldwide on its first day on screens, the biggest opening ever for a movie starring Tom Cruise, producers said Thursday.
The 135-million-dollar adaptation of HG Wells' 1989 science fiction novel notched up a whopping 21.3 million dollars in the United States and Canada alone, where it debuted Wednesday on 3,908 screens, Paramount Pictures said.
The ticket receipts represented the largest opening day in the history of Paramount Pictures as well as the largest opening day for a Tom Cruise movie, the studio said.
"We're ecstatic; this is just the beginning of a long and successful run at box offices around the globe," said the studio's vice chairman Rob Friedman.
"We've got a dream team of Tom Cruise and Steven Spielberg and they've both delivered yet again," he added in a statement.
In addition to Cruise, whose off-screen antics stole much of the film's thunder during his worldwide promotional tour, also stars Dakota Fanning, Miranda Otto, Justin Chatwin and Tim Robbins.
Cruise criss-crossing the globe touting the film but his surprise engagement in Paris to his girlfriend Katie Holmes, red carpet smooches and a series of testy interviews with Cruise overshadowed talk of the movie.
The once very-private star, 42, kicked off the media frenzy with his stunning announcement during a "War of the Worlds" press conference that he had proposed to Holmes, 26, at the Eiffel tower on June 16.
Then, at the film's London premiere, a phoney television reporter squirted Cruise in the face with a water pistol disguised as a microphone, eliciting a furious response and threats of legal action from the actor.
Cruise inadvertently stole the spotlight again when he clashed with television interviewers over his beliefs – he is an ardent member of the Church of Scientology – and over whether the film reflected aspects of the religion.
