X-Men: Days of Future Past represents the third major Marvel movie release at theaters in less than two months, following in the footsteps of the $90 million+ domestic opening weekends of Captain America: The Winter Soldier (Marvel Studios) and The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (Sony Pictures). While some estimates had the time-travel X-Men team-up and most expensive superhero movie ever breaking $100 million in its opening weekend domestically, and hitting $125 million or more over its four-day Memorial Day weekend haul, it didn't meet the mark.

The estimated three-day domestic haul for X-Men: Days of Future Past sits currently at $90.7 million, just under last weekend's Godzilla (Warner Bros. and Legendary) which earned $93,188,384 in its opening. Compared to the other Marvel flicks of the year, DOFP falls a tad short of Cap 2's $95,023,721 and Spidey 2's $91,608,337 as well, despite its glowing reviews and positive buzz from fans.

While domestically, the X-Men aren't setting any records, its worldwide appeal is notably improved and X-Men: Days of Future Past does represent the biggest worldwide opening for the franchise with an estimated $261.8 million. Much of this is thanks to the 3D premium bonus, first taken advantage of by The Wolverine last year.

X-Men Days of Future Past Full Cast Promo Photo

By comparison domestically, X-Men: Days of Future Past falls short of 2006's poorly reviewed X-Men: The Last Stand which earned $102,750,665 in its opening without 3D ticket boosts. That may just go to show how much of a negative impact The Last Stand and X-Men Origins: Wolverine had on the fanbase and franchise momentum, to see the successors still trying to catch up (domestically).

For Fox, who spent an unbelievable amount of money on making the ambitious X-Men: Days of Future Past a reality, the investment is paying off and at its current rate, the latest franchise installment should see the largest box office take for any franchise installment to date. Better yet, it did so while winning back both fans and critics, building off the improvements of James Mangold's The Wolverine.

The Wolverine Movie Poster

With a series of followsup and spinoffs already announced and/or in development, this was especially crucial for the X-Men to compete in the current competitive state of the genre with at least four big budget Marvel/DC films coming every year for the foreseeable future. For Fox, Fantastic Four is set to be relaunched next year in a feature directed by Josh Trank (Chronicle) and in 2016, the next X-Men film in X-Men: Apocalypse which picks up in the '80s, a decade after the events of Days of Future Past. There are also sequels for The Wolverine and Fantastic Four already with 2017 release dates, and another unannounced X-movie for 2018, with talk of additional spinoffs for characters including Deadpool and Gambit.

Did you see X-Men: DOFP in theaters this weekend? Share your thoughts and hopes for the future in the comments!

Read our X-Men: Days of Future Past review, join the spoilers discussion and check out our podcast episode on all things X-Men.

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More: ‘X-Men: Apocalypse’ Even Bigger Than ‘Days of Future Past’

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Bryan Singer directs X-Men: Days of Future Past with newcomers Peter Dinklage, Omar Sy, Boo Boo Stewart, Fan Bingbing, Evan Peters, Adan Canto, Josh Helman, Evan Jonigkeit along with returning stars Jennifer Lawrence, Michael Fassbender, James McAvoy, Nicholas Hoult, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Hugh Jackman, Anna Paquin, Ellen Page, Shawn Ashmore, Halle Berry, Lucas Till, and Daniel Cudmore.

X-Men: Days of Future Past arrives in U.S. theaters on May 23rd, 2014, followed by Fantastic Four on June 19th, 2015, X-Men: Apocalypse on May 27th, 2016, The Wolverine 3 (not the official title) on March 3rd, 2017, Fantastic Four 2 on July 14th, 2017, and an unspecified Marvel film on July 13th, 2018.

Follow Rob on Twitter @rob_keyes for your X-Men comics and movie news!