The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part I took advantage of its' huge fanbase and audiences turned out in huge numbers as the first part of the final book took in a huge $138.1 million on its' debut, for a per-theater average of a spectacular $34,012 from around 7,800 screens at 4,061 theaters. While that was short of New Moon, which still holds the November record of $142.7 million, the films' opening was still higher than distributor Summit Entertainment's expectations, which they had pegged a $125 million opening. It was also the fifth-highest opening weekend of all-time, ranking behind Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II, The Dark Knight, Spider Man 3 and New Moon. Produced for an expensive $110 million, the film is going to become another huge success, and according to other resources, it already has earned nearly $300 million worldwide. It will likely be on top for Thanksgiving, unless if The Muppets winds up doing much better business than expected.
While Twilight soared, Happy Feet Two disappointed. While opening in second place, the 3-D animated sequel earned just $21.2 million on opening weekend, for a per-theater average of a moderate $5,889 from around 6,700 screens at 3,606 theaters and 3-D accounting for 50 percent of business. That was far less than analysts and studio expectations, who had pegged it for a low to mid 30's millions opening, and was just over half of the original Happy Feet's $41.5 million opening, but that film didn't have Twilight and other competition to deal with. Animated films usually have females taking up majority of the audience, and its' likely that the fact of a strong brand such as Twilight might've made the weekend gross go down. The sequel earned mixed to negative reception from critics, though audiences were mainly positive with a "B+" CinemaScore grade. The film was produced for an expensive $130 million and will have to compete against three new family flicks on Wednesday, but no additional competition until mid-December might help it make up ground in the weeks to come.
After topping last weekend, Immortals suffered in the Twilight tidal wave, with a 62% plunge to $12.4 million, for a $53 million tally in 10 days. Looks like a final domestic tally of $70 million might have to suffice for the war epic. Meanwhile, Jack & Jill didn't hold well for an Adam Sandler pic, dropping 53% to $11.7 million in its' second weekend, for a $40.8 million tally in 10 days. The film should hold well over Thanksgiving and then head for around $75-$80 million domestically.
Following three strong weekends, Puss in Boots had to contend with Happy Feet Two and with the added pressure of Twilight, the film collapsed 56% in its' fourth weekend to fifth place and $10.8 million, for a $122.4 million tally in 24 days. While it has fallen behind MegaMind's cumulative total through the same point once again, it should make up ground over the extended weekend despite even more competition. Tower Heist continued its' woes, despite holiding the best out of the Top 10, dropping 44% to sixth place and $7.1 million, for a $53.5 million tally in 17 days.
J. Edgar was unable to recover after its' mildly disappointing opening, dropping 47% to $5.9 million, for a $20.7 million tally in 10 days and will likely close at $35 million. A Very Harold & Kumar 3-D Christmas held slightly better than last frame, but still stumbled 51% to eighth place and $2.9 million, for a $28.3 million tally in 17 days. Despite defying expectations for three weeks straight, In Time wasn't able to keep its' hopes alive as it plunged 58% in its' fourth weekend to $1.7 million and ninth place for a $33.5 million tally in 24 days.
Rounding out the Top 10, independent film The Descendants starring George Clooney debuted to an unexpectedly high $1.2 million, for a per-theater average of a fantastic $41,038 from just 29 theaters. The critically-acclaimed film is expected to expand throughout the holiday season.
Overall box office was up 16% from the same time last year when the first part of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows topped the box office with an impressive $125 million, on its' way to a $292 million finish domestically and over $800 million worldwide. MegaMind dropped 45% to second place in its' third weekend, grossing $16 million, while Unstoppable dropped 43% to $13 million and third place in its' second weekend. Due Date followed in fourth with a 42% ease to $8.9 million. Russell Crowe thriller The Next Three Days debuted poorly in fifth with just $6.5 million, on its' way to just $21 million domestically.
Here is the final Top 10:
# Movie Actual Number Projected Estimate My Prediction
1 The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn: Part I $138,122,261 $139,500,000 $147,000,000
2 Happy Feet Two $21,237,068 $22,025,000 $34,000,000
3 Immortals $12,351,959 $12,255,000 $14,000,000
4 Jack & Jill $11,738,573 $12,000,000 $13,700,000
5 Puss in Boots $10,804,311 $10,725,000 $12,300,000
6 Tower Heist $7,105,045 $7,000,000 $7,200,000
7 J. Edgar $5,928,120 $5,900,000 $6,000,000
8 A Very Harold & Kumar 3-D Christmas $2,902,434 $2,915,000 $3,200,000
9 In Time $1,710,692 $1,675,000 $2,100,000
10 The Descendants $1,190,096 $1,200,000 ----
