Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull hauled in an estimated $311 million in global ticket sales over the Memorial Day weekend–a near-record performance, and strong evidence that audiences will respond well to a film with an anti-communist attitude.

Screen image from 'Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull'

The film’s U.S.-Canada domestic gross of $151.1 million constitutes the second-biggest Thursday-Monday Memorial Day weekend opening ever. (Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End brought in $153 million during the same period last year.) Parents with children composed almost a third of the U.S. audience, according to AP, quoting Rob Moore, president of Paramount Worldwide Distribution:

"Adults really drove this opening. This is one of their favorite franchises and they couldn’t wait to take their kids with them," Moore said.

Paramount, which produced and distributes Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, is also distributing the other big success of the spring-summer season so far, Marvel Studios’ Iron Man.

Disney’s The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, did rather well, finishing second, though it brought in just a fraction of the Indiana Jones take, at $28.6 million in U.S. domestic gross ticket sales. Iron Man stayed strong, finishing third with $25.7 million. The other big-budget action-oriented film of the season, Speed Racer limped along in fifth place with just $5.2 million.