And we're off! At the stroke of midnight, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull began screening on 4260 U.S. screens, and 12,000 more around the planet.

With a 4-day opening weekend poised to topple all previous box office records, we thought we'd celebrate the iconic treasure seeker's historic return with an Indy PlunderWatch gross earnings projections clock. Using a complex algorithm that carefully calibrates screen count, market research, other openings, and hyperbole divided by fanboy prattling, our calculations* suggests that the sequel has in just nine short hours of release already laid waste to current title-holder Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End's $US137 million take by well over nine-and-a-half trillion dollars.

*Margin of error: +/- 9.5 trillion.

• 'Jones' eyes box office bonanza [Variety]

Tags: box office | indiana jones | indy 4 | paramount