WOW!
'Twilight' whammo with global franchise-best $341 mil - Vamp saga finale trails 'New Moon' domestically with $141 mil
By: ANDREW STEWART
Summit's "Twilight" finale, "Breaking Dawn - Part 2," scored a franchise-best worldwide bow this weekend, staking a massive $340.9 million, including $141.3 million Stateside in three days.
Last year, "Breaking Dawn - Part 1" debuted at $283.5 million globally, just ahead of "New Moon," which grossed $274.8 million during its first worldwide sesh. The franchise's third offering, "Eclipse," bowed mid-week during summer 2010, earning $157.6 million domestically in its first five days, with a global debut of $261.6 million.
The boffo Stateside opening for "Part 2" missed the franchise's previous opening record held by 2009's "New Moon" ($142.8 million). The finale still topped the franchise's penultimate offering, with $138.1 million domestically.
With the help from a sturdy holdover perf from "Skyfall," at $41.5 million, as well as a better-than-expected expansion for Disney-DreamWorks' "Lincoln" ($21 million), weekend totals, at approximately $216 million, came in as the third-best overall frame this year, behind "The Avengers" and "The Dark Knight Rises" opening weekends, respectively.
Pre-weekend tracking had "Part 2" pegged at a potential $150 million opening. And while those projections proved a tad bullish, the pic still played better than the lowered $135 million estimates released late Friday.
Prospects look promising for "Part 2," especially since the film received an A CinemaScore - the same as 2010's "Eclipse," which drew the franchise's biggest Stateside cume to date of $300.5 million.