'X-Men' set to 'Stand' tall at Holiday box office

Rebecca Romijn as Mystique in X-Men: The Last Stand

X-Men: The Last Stand, the third and last film in the superhero trilogy, is expected to take the box office crown from The Da Vinci Code during the Memorial Day holiday weekend, but will be hard-pressed to match the $85.6 million three-day bow of its 2003 predecessor.

Fox's PG-13 film is debuting in 3,689 theaters, slightly less than the 3,741 in which X2 debuted during the first weekend in May. Unlike this year, there was precious little competition in the marketplace then. X2 went on to gross $214.9 million domestically.

Amid mostly positive reviews, the Marvel sci-fi actioner has been tracking strongly for quite some time, attracting a broad age range but skewing slightly younger and more male.

Sony's Da Vinci Code debuted a week ago with a sterling $77.1 million, and Paramount's Over the Hedge, from DreamWorks Animation, parlayed $38.5 million in its opening session. Conventional box office wisdom says they should gross almost as much in the four-day holiday period.

With Brett Ratner taking over as director from Matthew Vaughn, who himself had replaced Bryan Singer, X3 features returning stars Patrick Stewart, Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, Ian McKellen, and Famke Janssen. The story follows the battle among mutants when a cure is discovered that would strip them of their powers and make them human.

X3 will also roll out in most countries overseas, with the notable exceptions of Japan, South Korea, China and Taiwan. Last weekend, Da Vinci pulled in an international gross of a record $154.7 million.