(Reuters) - Dodging critical fire faster than Neo evades bullets, "The Matrix Revolutions" debuted to sold-out theaters on Wednesday in a global opening that had fans lining up for blocks to be first to see the film.

 

Fans dressed up like cast members of the third film in the 'Matrix' trilogy, 'Matrix Revolutions' pose during a countdown to zero hour at Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood in the early morning November 5. (Reuters Photo)

    "We've had tremendous crowds, and early (box office) numbers are very strong," said Dick Westerling, spokesman for the No. 1 U.S. theater chain Regal Entertainment Group. .

    Dan Fellman, film distribution chief for Warner Bros. studio, the unit of Time Warner Inc. that makes and markets the "Matrix" movies, said a first-day box office estimate would not be ready until Thursday.

    Fellman added, however, that his phone had been ringing off the hook since the curtain rose on "Revolutions" at 9 a.m. EST with tales of sold-out crowds. He said several theaters reported selling $40,000 worth of tickets before noon.

    "That is a staggering number for a Saturday before noon, let alone a Wednesday," Fellman said.

    A spokesman for No. 2 U.S. theater chain AMC Entertainment Inc. reported similarly crowded theaters in the morning and said many of Wednesday night's screenings were sold out in advance.

    Movies normally debut on Friday and see their biggest crowds Saturday, but the futuristic "Matrix" movies, about a group of bullet-dodging humans battling for Earth against software-controlled machines, have been such huge hits that Warner Bros. has released them early to meet initial demand.

    
UNFLATTERING REVIEWS

    
    The first "Matrix" in 1999 hauled in $456 million in global ticket sales and this past May's "The Matrix Reloaded" eclipsed that figure with $735 million at worldwide box offices.

 

U.S. actor Keanu Reeves (L) poses with actress Jada Pinkett Smith and producer Joel Silver (R) at a countdown event to start the worldwide simultaneous roadshow of their latest film 'Matrix Revolutions', final chapter of the Matrix trilogy, in Tokyo, November 5. (Reuters Photo)

    Demand may be strong and the fan base large, but major reviews lacked any sort of luster. The Los Angeles Times said "Revolutions" landed in theaters "with a thud" and asks "how did something so cool, get so dorky?"

    The New York Times said "'Reloaded' was certainly a lumpy, gaseous treatise of a movie, but viewers of 'Revolutions' may find themselves looking back on it fondly."

    Fortunately for Warner Bros. and for theaters, die-hard fans as a general rule don't care about critical reviews and to please the series' fans -- as well as combat piracy -- Warner Bros. undertook the most wide-scale debut ever of a film.

    It raised the curtain for "Revolutions" on over 10,000 movie screens in 107 markets simultaneously in the United States and Canada, and in China, Russia, throughout Southeast Asia and Europe.

    A normal release for a major Hollywood movie would see it opening in the United States and Canada first on 2,000 to 3,000 screens, then playing in various countries over the subsequent months.

    
As happened with "Reloaded," so-called "pirates" who copy films for resale on black markets or place them on the Internet for free file-swapping have made movies available the same day -- or even before -- a movie's debut in theaters.

    "Revolutions" also debuted on giant Imax Corp. movie screens, and Westerling and Fellman said those showings were seeing strong crowds, too. Enditem