Bodog Beat

The new Indiana Jones installment is unfolding to become the second biggest Memorial Day movie opening of all time. (Courtesy Paramount)

Good news for Spielberg: he has a hit movie on his hands. "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" grossed an estimated $101 million and the Memorial Day weekend isn't even over.

Nineteen years after he last rode off into the sunset, Indiana Jones is back – hunting for a crystal skull in the Amazon jungle, fending off the villainous Cate Blanchett and reuniting with Karen Allen.

With a respectable 79% approval rating on Rottentomatoes, the consensus is that Harrison Ford's return is more than welcome.

"'Indiana Jones' did incredibly well for a film that comes 19 years after the previous installment," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of tracking firm Media By Numbers LLC.

"This is the definition of a summer movie from two of the architects of the summer movie season — George Lucas and Steven Spielberg," he said. "These guys have it down to a science and audiences want to go along for that ride."

With the three previous "Indiana Jones" installments earning worldwide ticket sales of $1.2 billion, this Memorial Day weekend Paramount is successfully milking their "Crystal Skull" cash cow. Let the summer movie race begin.

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