'Alice in Wonderland's' $41 mil box office breaks records Friday

"Alice in Wonderland" has fed a bit of "Eat Me" cake to the box office.

The Tim Burton-directed film earned hefty $41 million at the North American box office on Friday (March 5), according to Disney studio estimates, reports The LA Times.

Not only is that a record number for a film's opening day in the first quarter, but it looks like "Alice" could be on its way to breaking a record for an opening weekend in the same January-March quarter as well.

Already, projections are estimating a $110 million haul for the three-day opening. The current record holder is Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ," which opened to $83.8 million in February 2004 (although that was for a five-day weekend).

"Alice" is Burton's idea of sequel to the traditional "Alice in Wonderland" and "Alice's Adventures Through the Looking Glass" books by Lewis Carroll. In this update, Alice (Mia Wasikowska) is a young woman on the verge of being engaged when she falls into a rabbit hole and discovers a world familiar to her through ongoing dreams she's had since childhood.

The film, which cost  $200 million to make, also stars Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter and Anne Hathaway.

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Photo credit: Disney