Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer lead the U.S. box office with an estimated $57.4 million on 3,959 screens.  The sequel was able to top its predecessor which earned $56.1 million during its opening weekend in 2005.  Experts believe the film was helped by reaching a broader audience with a PG rating.  The original film (and most other comic book films) release with a PG-13 rating.

Coming in second place for the weekend was Ocean's Thirteen which earned $19.1 million in its second week, dropping a respectable 47% from its opening weekend tally.  The only other wide release debut for the weekend was Warner Bros.' Nancy Drew which placed a distant seventh with an estimated $7.1 million.

The test of Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer's staying power is its ticket sells during the week and how it fares against the Steve Carrell comedy Evan Almighty and the John Cusack thriller 1408 which both open Friday.