Steven Spielberg’s summer blockbuster, War of the Worlds, has broken box office records by taking in an estimated $101.7 million US in North American ticket sales in the first five days.

The Tom Cruise action epic beat Batman Begins as the top box office draw this year. The fifth Batman flick earned $72.9 million during its first five days two weeks ago.

The box office is far from being on fire again, though.

War of the Worlds fell far below the amount Spiderman 2 earned last year: $152 million over the holiday weekend.

It’s doubtful that the negative press TomKat – the Tom Cruise/Katie Holmes romance – has been receiving bogged down the box office results. Even if it’s getting wierder.

The New York Post’s Page Six is reporting that while at a taping of The View, Holmes was not permitted by Cruise to use the bathroom alone. The first time Holmes needed to use the girls’ room, Cruise took her with him into the mens’ room. Later, “three Scientologists followed her in.” A rep for The View said, “We don’t follow guests to the bathroom.”

War of the Worlds opened on Wednesday with $21.3 million and Saturday’s sales of $22.7 million represent the biggest single-day haul for both Paramount and Cruise, said the studio.






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