"Die Hard" chases down $9.1 mil in opening day

By Gregg Kilday

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - "Live Free or Die Hard," the fourth installment in the "Die Hard" franchise, opened Wednesday to $9.1 million, but did not set any records, according to estimates issued by distributor 20th Century Fox.

Although it has been 12 years since Bruce Willis' cop John McClane has been called into action, the new film, carrying a PG-13 rating rather than the R attached to earlier films in the series, easily dominated the day's sales.

The current record-holder for an opening Wednesday is "Spider-Man 2," which bowed to a single-day gross of $40.4 million on June 30, 2004.

But Fox execs pronounced themselves pleased with both the day's opening number, which included some Tuesday night showings, as well as positive exit surveys. Rial studios also viewed the movie's bow as a strong showing.

"Die Hard" heads into a competitive weekend, where it will encounter Disney's Pixar production "Ratatouille," which is expected to take the top spot -- especially since some of "Die Hard's" prospective weekend audience will be siphoned off by its Wednesday and Thursday screenings. "Die Hard" is expected to capture the second slot in the weekend rankings.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter