It's the fourth of July weekend and the fireworks are going off everywhere, but only one movie is seeing sparks at the box office: Steven Spielberg's War of the Worlds. Opening on a Wednesday and running through a four day weekend it spread it's weekend take rather thin, but that didn't stop the alien flick from clearing $64 million in its weekend span.

While that take gives it the second most successful opening weekend this year, it's still a poor showing compared to many of last year's blockbuster films. That's not meant to be a slam on Spielberg, just another observation on the thinning trend at the box office this year. We're finally seeing enough major summer films roll out that worthwhile comparisons can be made. War of the Worlds failed to top weekend numbers from last summer hits like SpiderMan 2, Shrek 2 and The Day After Tomorrow. Of course, keep in mind that World's numbers were hit by its Wednesday opening. I wish movies would stop doing that. It just makes my job harder.

Speaking of my job being harder, I've pulled a little double duty for you this week, including both the regular weekend numbers and the four day weekend numbers which include estimates of what people will be paying at the box office on the fourht. Both sets of numbers are below. Enjoy!

Next week sees the release of the Fantastic 4. Will it flop or will it fly? The Cinema Blend News staff have had a lot of thoughts about that question, most of them negative. Check out their thoughts and predictions for the opening weekend receipts below in our new little highlight, Bowling for Box Office.

Bowling For Box Office Fantastic Four Predictions How much money will Fantastic Four make next week? The Cinema Blend staff chimes in. Matt Norris: $40 million. "The story will probably bore me to sleep. Check that. I'll probably just stare at Alba's ass as this horrible comic book adaptation implodes in front of me". Rafe Telsch: $1 "I'm really hoping word of mouth will kill this movie if it ends up being as bad as the trailers look. Lets be honest, the idea was done much better last year as The Incredibles."

TOP TEN: THREE DAY WEEKEND July 1 - 3, 2005

1. War of the Worlds* - $64,525,000 ($100,207,000 ) [CB REVIEW]

2. Batman Begins - $15,685,000 ($151,146,000 ) [CB REVIEW]

3. Mr. and Mrs. Smith - $10,225,000 ($143,584,000 ) [CB REVIEW]

4. Bewitched - $9,100,000 ($38,606,000 ) [CB REVIEW]

5. Herbie: Fully Loaded - $8,669,000 ($35,001,000 ) [CB REVIEW]

6. Madagascar - $5,400,000 ($170,800,000 ) [CB REVIEW]

7. Rebound* - $5,000,000 ($5,000,000 ) [CB REVIEW]

8. Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith - $4,025,000 ($365,496,000 ) [CB REVIEW]

9. The Longest Yard - $2,925,000 ($147,613,000 ) [CB REVIEW]

10. George A. Romero's Land of the Dead - $2,681,000 ($16,176,000 ) [CB REVIEW]

* Denotes new release.

TOP TEN: FOUR DAY WEEKEND, July 1 - 4 2005

1. War of the Worlds* - $77,600,000 ($113,282,000 ) [CB REVIEW]

2. Batman Begins - $18,685,000 ($154,146,000 ) [CB REVIEW]

3. Mr. and Mrs. Smith - $12,700,000 ($146,058,000 ) [CB REVIEW]

4. Bewitched - $10,800,000 ($40,306,000 ) [CB REVIEW]

5. Herbie: Fully Loaded - $10,508,000 ($36,840,000 ) [CB REVIEW]

6. Madagascar - $7,000,000 ($172,400,000 ) [CB REVIEW]

7. Rebound* - $6,000,000 ($6,000,000 ) [CB REVIEW]

8. Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith - $5,000,000 ($366,471,000 ) [CB REVIEW]

9. The Longest Yard - $3,525,000 ($148,213,000 ) [CB REVIEW]

10. George A. Romero's Land of the Dead - $3,244,000 ($16,739,000 ) [CB REVIEW]

* Denotes new release.