‘Total Recall’ Totally Dominates Box Office : Movies: Film starring Schwarzenegger posts one of the top 10 biggest three-day openings ever.

“Total Recall,” the film that sends Arnold Schwarzenegger to Mars, sent the weekend box office out of this world with ticket sales of approximately $26.4 million for the year’s biggest three-day opening.

As one of the top 10 biggest three-day openings ever, Tri-Star Pictures’ “Total Recall” pummeled Universal Pictures’ “Back to the Future III,” which tumbled an estimated 55% from last week.

Diminutive Michael J. Fox, who stars as the latter’s time-traveling teen Marty McFly, was a 90-pound weakling opposite muscleman Schwarzenegger, as “Back to the Future III” continued in the tradition of “Future II” (which opened in November) by spiraling downward after a strong opening week.

The second-place “Future III” had ticket sales of about $10.4 million after its splashy Memorial Day holiday weekend debut, in which it earned $23.7 million over four days.

Third place went to “Bird on a Wire,” the Mel Gibson-Goldie Hawn action-comedy from Universal Pictures. With ticket sales of about $6.3 million, it has now flown off with more than $42 million.

Touchstone Pictures’ “Pretty Woman” was fourth, with ticket sales of about $4.7 million. In fifth, and sputtering, with ticket sales of approximately $2.7 million, was Orion Pictures’ Robin Williams comedy, “Cadillac Man.”

Touchstone’s “Fire Birds,” about Apache attack helicopters fighting the war on drugs, had second-week ticket sales of $2.5 million, for sixth place. It had opened to $6.3 million and fifth place.