As expected, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part II topped the box office. The finale in the supernatural romance series was able to conjure up a huge $141.1 million, for a per-theater average of a massive $34,660 from around 9,200 screens at 4,070 theaters (breaking it down to individual showtimes, Twilight averaged $1,030 alone from an estimated 136,900 showtimes). Yes, that wasn't as huge as what some were expecting, and Part II did wind up falling short of the franchise's best opening, New Moon ($142.7 million). It does seem a bit surprising for a series finale to not improve on previous entries' grosses, but we also need to remember majority of past series' finales have debuted in the summer whereas this one is out in November. Its' actually quite good that the Twilight movies haven't shown signs of audience fatigue, and this film did manage to inch ahead of Part I's opening weekend last year (overall, the movie had the eighth-largest opening weekend ever). Critical reception was mixed, but it was the most favorable of the franchise. Audiences gave it an "A" CinemaScore, which should help it to keep playing for a while. Unless DreamWorks Animation's Rise of the Guardians does much better than expected, then Twilight should remain on top for the next two weekends. Thanks to Twilight, distributor Lionsgate (who acquired Summit Entertainment) is set to pass the $1 billion milestone for the first time ever. The studio didn't issue and official prediction, but analysts were hoping the movie would debut near $150 million (which was quite bullish to begin with). The movie was produced for $120 million and was the years' 23rd film to pass $100 million stateside.But Twilight isn't the only movie playing in theaters right now. Some people might not remember Skyfall, which showed a remarkable hold this weekend in the face of stiff competition. The 23rd James Bond flick was down 54% to $41.1 million, for a 10-day tally of a huge $160.9 million. By mid-week, the movie will pass Quantum of Solace's final gross ($167.5 million) to become the biggest Bond movie ever domestically. With Thanksgiving coming up and apparently solid word-of-mouth going for it, Skyfall looks to finish between $250 and $275 million stateside, a true blockbuster number. Skyfall was the 21st movie of year year to pass $100 million on Veteran's Day.
Opening in third place with better-than-expected results was Steven Spielberg's Lincoln. Following its' impressive limited opening, the historical drama debuted to a great $21 million, for a per-theater average of an impressive $11,859 from around 2,500 screens at just 1,775 locations (it has earned $22.5 million since its' limited debut last weekend). Considering the movie's low screen count, this is an especially impressive start. One of this years' awards season's front-runners capitalized on critical acclaim and strong buzz from older audiences. The movie wound up higher than Spielberg's last two projects' opening weekends (The Adventures of Tintin [$9.7 million] and War Horse [$17 million over New Year's Weekend]) and set the record for the largest opening for a movie based on a U.S. President. With an "A" CinemaScore on top of the positive reviews, Lincoln should play for the rest of the holidays, and should expand further Thanksgiving weekend. Analysts had projected a mid-teens millions debut, and distributor Disney (through their Touchstone label) produced it for around $60 million.
That leaves the other major holdover, Wreck-it Ralph in fourth place, which took a bit of a hit from the Top 3. The animated comedy retreated 44% to $18.6 million, for a $121.8 million gross in 17 days. The movie did have a slightly better hold than what MegaMind had in the face of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I. Rise of the Guardians and Life of Pi arrive as competition on Wednesday, but Ralph should be able to at least match this weekend's gross for the five-day frame alone, then go on to finish between $160 and $180 million domestically. Ralph was the year's 22nd film to pass $100 million last Tuesday.
Expanding into more theaters, Denzel Washington's Flight was down 41% to $8.8 million, for a solid $61.5 million gross in 17 days. Its' now playing in over 2,600 locations, and a Thanksgiving bump next weekend should allow the action flick to give it a chance at reaching $100 million (if it doesn't drop hard afterwards). In its' sixth weekend, Ben Affleck's Argo continued to go on strong, with a 39% drop (its' steepest weekend-to-weekend drop yet) to $4 million, for a $92 million gross in 37 days. The thriller will pass the final gross of The Town later this week, and with a Thanksgiving bump coming, it should pass $100 million within the next three weeks. In a distant seventh, Taken 2 was down 47% to $2.1 million, for a $134.7 million gross in seven weeks of release. The action sequel will likely top out at $140 million, just a few steps short of its' predecessors' final gross.
In a strange turn of events, independent flick Jab Tak Hai Jaan wound up debuting in eighth place (by default) this weekend, collecting $1.283 million, for a per-theater average of a good $7,973 from just 161 theaters. The movie's bar for success currently remains unknown.
Two other long-standing holdovers rounded out the list. Eight weekends old, Pitch Perfect was shoved aside by Twilight, down 51% to $1.268 million, for a strong $61.1 million gross in 56 days. Six weekends old, Kevin James' leggy comedy Here Comes The Boom dropped 54% to $1.2 million, for a modest $41 million gross in 49 days.
Overseas, Twilight: Breaking Dawn - Part II tallied a massive $199.6 million from 61 markets, bringing its' foreign launch total to $340.7 million (the eighth-biggest ever). The finale is tracking 38% ahead of its' predecessor in most territories. Skyfall was forced to drop to second, but continued its' phenomenal run with another $49.6 million from about 85-90% of markets, bringing its' overseas tally to over $500 million (!) and worldwide tally to $670 million, the biggest ever for a Bond movie with much more to come. In a way distant third, Argo continued to play well in holdover markets with another $8.7 million, for a $40 million overseas tally in three weekends. Hotel Transylvania added another $7.8 million for a $140 million overseas gross, and Wreck-it Ralph added another $4.8 million for an early $35 million foreign total (in just 18% of foreign territories).
Predictions for the extended Thanksgiving weekend coming later this evening...
