Night at the Museum beat The Terminator at the box office.

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'Night at the Museum' sequel has big first weekend, beating 'Terminator'

BY Jane H. Furse
DAILY NEWS WRITER

Sunday, May 24th 2009, 6:50 PM

Gregory/AP

Ben Stiller and Amy Adams in 'Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian.'

In the battle for Memorial Day supremacy, Ben Stiller's "Night at the Museum" sequel terminated the latest in the "Terminator" series.

"Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian" sold $53.5 million worth of tickets during the weekend while "Terminator Salavation" starring Christian Bale earned $43 million and the No. 2 spot at the box office, according to studio estimates.

The Memorial Day holiday typically ranks as the biggest or second-biggest weekend for theaters and serves as a barometer for the lucrative summer season.

As of Sunday, sales were 15% ahead of last year's levels and attendance was up 12%, continuing the recession-fueled box office boom.

Reigning box office champ Tom Hanks fell to fourth place with the $21.4 million earned by "Angels & Demons."

Movie insiders said "Terminator," which was targeted to male moviegoers, was probably hit by competition from "Star Trek," which slipped one place to No. 3 in its third weekend with $22 million.

"Night at the Museum" is the second big opening for 20th Century Fox, which three weeks ago had another box office winner in "X-Men Origins: Wolverine."

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