On its first day of release, the new Bruce Willis action extravaganza Live Free or Die Hard took in an estimated $9.1 million. According to Variety, this is the biggest live-action opening Bruce has had since he starred in Armageddon way back in 1998. That film took in $9.7 million on its opening day.

Live Free or Die Hard managed to grab more loot on its debut than the first three films in the franchise. It was launched midweek to give it a little bit of breathing room, before the mammoth action film Transformers opens next Tuesday.

This weekend, John McClain will have to contend with a couple of rats in the house and a bunch of sickies. Both Ratatouille and Michael Moore's documentary Sicko open on Friday.

Live Free or Die Hard was released June 27th, 2007 and stars Bruce Willis, Timothy Olyphant, Justin Long, Maggie Q, Cliff Curtis, Jonathan Sadowski, Andrew Friedman, Kevin Smith. The film is directed by Len Wiseman.