LOS ANGELES: 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.