LOS ANGELES (AP) - The sun has set on the "Twilight" franchise with one last blockbuster opening for the supernatural romance.
"The Twilight Saga:
Breaking Dawn - Part 2" sucked up $141.3 million domestically over
opening weekend and $199.6 million more overseas for a worldwide debut
of $340.9 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.
The finale ranks eighth on
the list of all-time domestic debuts, and leaves "Twilight" with three
of the top-10 openings, joining 2009's "New Moon" (No. 7 with $142.8
million) and last year's "Breaking Dawn - Part 1" (No. 9 with $138.1
million).
Last May's "The Avengers"
is No. 1 with $207.4 million. "Batman" is the only other franchise with
more than one top-10 opening: last July's "The Dark Knight Rises" (No. 3
with $160.9 million) and 2008's "The Dark Knight" (No. 4 with $158.4
million).
Though "Twilight" still is a
female-driven franchise, with girls and women making up 79 percent of
the opening-weekend audience, the finale drew the biggest male crowds in
the series. Action-minded guys had more to root for in the finale as
Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner join in a colossal
battle to end the story of warring vampires and werewolves.
"Our male audience
particularly has enjoyed this film," said Richie Fay, head of
distribution for Lionsgate, whose Summit Entertainment banner releases
the "Twilight" movies. "With the action scenes in this one, we're hoping
the holdover business will reflect the fact that males have kind of
found it out."
The movie also helped lift
Lionsgate into the big leagues among Hollywood studios. Paced by its
$400 million smash with "The Hunger Games" and now the "Twilight"
finale, Lionsgate surpassed $1 billion at the domestic box office for
the first time.
Some box-office watchers
had expected the last "Twilight" movie to open with a franchise record
the way the "Harry Potter" finale did last year with $169.2 million, the
second-best domestic debut on the charts.
"I thought that for the
final installment, it might eclipse the franchise record, but to look at
$141.3 million and say that's a disappointment, that's kind of crazy,"
said Paul Dergarabedian, an analyst for box-office tracker
Hollywood.com. "It's one of the most consistently performing franchises
of all time."
The "Twilight" finale took
over the No. 1 spot from Sony's James Bond adventure "Skyfall," which
slipped to second-place with $41.5 million domestically in its second
weekend. "Skyfall" raised its domestic total to $161.3 million.
The franchise's third film
starring Daniel Craig as Bond, "Skyfall" began rolling out overseas in
late October and has hit $507.9 million internationally at the box
office. The film's global total climbed to $669.2 million, helping to
lift Sony to its best year ever with $4 billion worldwide, topping the
studio's $3.6 billion haul in 2009.
"Skyfall" passed the previous franchise high of $599.2 million worldwide for 2006's "Casino Royale."
Steven Spielberg and Daniel
Day-Lewis' Civil War drama "Lincoln" expanded nationwide after a week
in limited release and came in at No. 3 with $21 million. Distributed by
Disney, "Lincoln" lifted its domestic haul to $22.4 million.
The comic drama "Silver
Linings Playbook," released by the Weinstein Co., got off to a good
start in limited release, taking in $458,430 in 16 theaters for a solid
average of $28,652 a cinema. By comparison, the "Twilight" finale
averaged $34,717 in 4,070 theaters.
"Silver Linings Playbook"
stars Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence and Robert De Niro in a quirky
romance involving a man fresh out of a psychiatric hospital and an
emotionally troubled young widow.
Keira Knightley's period
drama "Anna Karenina" also started well in limited release with $315,395
in 16 theaters, for an average of $19,712. The Focus Features film
stars Knightley in the title role of Leo Tolstoy's tragic romance.
Estimated ticket sales for
Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to
Hollywood.com. Where available, latest international numbers are also
included. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
1. "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2," $141.3 million ($199.6 million international).
2. "Skyfall," $41.5 million ($49.6 million international).
3. "Lincoln," $21 million.
4. "Wreck-It Ralph," $18.3 million ($4.8 million international).
5. "Flight," $8.6 million ($1 million international).
6. "Argo," $4.1 million ($8.7 million international).
7. "Taken 2," $2.1 million ($2 million international).
8. "Pitch Perfect," $1.3 million ($4.1 million international).
9. "Here Comes the Boom," $1.2 million ($2.5 million international).
10 (tie). "Cloud Atlas," $900,000 ($5 million international).
10 (tie). "Hotel Transylvania," $900,000 ($7.8 million international).
10 (tie). "The Sessions," $900,000.
___
Estimated weekend ticket
sales at international theaters (excluding the U.S. and Canada) for
films distributed overseas by Hollywood studios, according to Rentrak:
1. "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2," $199.6 million.
2. "Skyfall," $49.6 million.
3. "Argo," $8.7 million.
4. "Hotel Transylvania," $7.8 million.
5. "Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo," $7.5 million.
6. "A Werewolf Boy," $6.8 million.
7. "Cloud Atlas," $5 million.
8. "Wreck-It Ralph," $4.8 million.
9. "Confession of Murder," $3.5 million.
10. "Rise of the Guardians," $3.1 million.
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