"Hannibal," a thriller starring Sir Anthony Hopkins in a long-awaited follow-up to the 1991 hit "The Silence of the Lambs," grossed a record-breaking $58 million in its first three days of release in the United States and Canada, according to studio estimates issued on Sunday.

If the numbers hold when final data are issued on Monday, "Hannibal" will replace 2000's "Mission: Impossible II" ($57.9 million) as the third-highest bow in movie history, after 1997's "The Lost World: Jurassic Park" ($72 million) and 1999's "Star Wars: Episode One -- The Phantom Menace" ($64.8 million). It also set new records for a non-summer opening, an R-rated release and for a release by domestic distributor Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc.

"I must confess I expected it to be big, but not this big," "Hannibal" producer Dino De Laurentiis told Reuters from Berlin.

Indeed most industry expectations were in the $35 million- $40 million range. MGM distribution president Larry Gleason sai

He said Hopkins, who received a $10 million-plus salary for "Hannibal," had asked to be in a sequel. This was confirmed by MGM's Gleason. Whereas "Silence" and "Hannibal" were based on novels by Thomas Harris, the new project would probably bypass the book stage and go straight to script, Gleason said.

"Saving Silverman," a low-budget teen-targeted comedy also released by Columbia, opened at No. 3 with a modest $7.4 million.

Some common words found in the essay are:
Hannibal Lecter, Pictures Classics, Entertainment Inc, Phantom Menace, De Laurentiis', United Canada, Laurentiis Berlin, James Bond, Laurentiis Gleason, Thomas Harris, de laurentiis, pictures classics, sony pictures, lecter he's, phantom menace, hannibal lecter, sony pictures classics, hannibal lecter he's, united canada, r-rated release,
Approximate Word count = 708
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)