Gobbling Memorial Day weekend records and most of the movies in its path, “X-Men: The Last Stand” looks highly likely to capitalize on its fat returns by generating more sequels, the title notwithstanding. The ending, like so many for horror and sci-fi “final episodes,” kicks the door back open. “Last Stand” had the biggest Friday ever, with $45.5 million from 3,690 multiplexes, many of which have three to six prints and some of which started with midnight shows. It had the fourth-biggest Friday-to-Sunday weekend (excluding the holiday Monday), behind the $114.8 million opening weekend of “Spider-Man” (2002), the $108.4 million taken in by “Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith” (2005) and the $108 million for “Shrek 2” (2004). Throughout North America, the first three days of “X-Men” also dwarfed the previous weekend’s debut of another blockbuster, “The Da Vinci Code,” which reached $77.1 million. Locally, though, some multiplexes fared better with the opening weekend of “Da Vinci.” “X-Men” rules the roost this round. It’s No. 1 by a wide margin here and everywhere. “The Da Vinci Code” falls to second place locally with a 61 percent drop in attendance during the Friday-to-Sunday portion of the holiday weekend, which allows us to compare oranges to oranges. “Over the Hedge” is off 50 percent but still very healthy. It’s third everywhere. “Poseidon” takes fourth place locally, down 35 percent. “Mission: Impossible III” checks in at No. 5, tailing off 56 percent. “RV” is sixth here, fading 58 percent. Nothing else is doing much, which is why the Indian drama “Water,” with passable returns at two spots, is able to ascend to seventh place in its debut. “United 93” clings to eighth place, off 77 percent locally. No. 9 here is “See No Evil,” off 62 percent despite adding a screen. “Just My Luck” lingers in 10th place, down a dizzying 92 percent as it loses screens and most of its starting times. Due Friday are “The Break-Up,” “The Proposition,” “On a Clear Day” and “Three Times.” The remake of “The Omen” will follow with a rare Tuesday debut but one that permits it to link its premiere to June 6, 2006, or as its advertising touts it, 6-6-06. Triple 6’s are integral to the plot.

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