U.S. director Steven Spielberg (2nd L), his wife Kate Capshaw (L), producer George Lucas (C), Melody Hobson (3rd R), Calista Flockhart (2nd R) and Harrison Ford (R) wave to the public before the world premiere screening of the film "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" at the 61st Cannes Film Festival May 18, 2008.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

Paramount's "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" is expected to take in an estimated 126 million dollars in North America over the Memorial Day weekend, looking to become the second-best ever opener during the holiday, its distributor said Sunday.

The long-awaited fourth installment of the legendary "Indiana Jones" franchise, directed by Steven Spielberg, stars Harrison Ford, Cate Blanchett and Shia LaBeouf.

Including Thursday's take, "Crystal Skull's" five-day opening gross is estimated at 151 million dollars, just 2 million dollars short of the Memorial Day weekend record set last year by Disney's "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End."

Meanwhile, last week's box office leader, Disney family fantasy "Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian" declined to No. 2 with an estimated 23 million dollars during the Friday-to-Sunday period. The sequel has grossed 91 million dollars since its release 10 days ago.

Marvel Studios' superhero flick "Iron Man," also released by Paramount, fell to No. 3 with 20.1 million dollars this weekend. The film continued to impress industry observers in its fourth week in release, taking its total North American gross to about 258 million dollars.

(Xinhua News Agency May 26,2008)