The film had the sixth best-selling opening day of all time, but it wasn’t enough to have the best opening day for a Twilight film. Not even close.
For those who stood in line for a midnight showing of Breaking Dawn — Part 2, you probably can’t imagine a movie selling more tickets than were sold Friday. But not only has it happened in the past, it’s happened within the same franchise.
The film sold $30.4 million for its 10 p.m. Thursday and midnight Friday showings, for a total of $71.2 million for Friday alone (the Thursday showings are included in Friday’s sales). To make a comparison, last weekend’s winner, Skyfall, sold $87.8 million over the entire weekend. And that was considered a huge showing.
The Friday sales were the sixth-highest-selling opening day of all time. However, the opening was not enough to be the highest-selling opening day for a Twilight film. In fact, it wasn’t even second. The Twilight Saga: New Moon earned $72.7 million on its opening day and The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 1 earned $71.6 million.
“An opening day north of $70 million is fantastic, and the fact that three Twilight movies have accomplished this feat is really remarkable,” said Box Office Mojo. “Still, unlike the conclusions to the recent Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings and Star Wars franchises, Breaking Dawn — Part 2‘s final status didn’t drive it to a new Twilight record, which is slightly disappointing.”
Experts are predicting the film is set to earn around $135 million for the weekend, which would be slightly behind Breaking Dawn — Part 1’s $138.1 million earned on its debut weekend.
The Steven Spielberg film Lincoln opened Friday in 1,775 theaters, behind the final Twilight film, but not even in second place. Skyfall earned an estimated $12.35 million, and Lincoln earned around $6.25 million.
“In comparison, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter grossed $6.25 million on opening day despite playing in over 3,000 theaters,” said Box Office Mojo. “Lincoln‘s opening was a bit below War Horse‘s $7.5 million debut last year, but the Christmas Day start surely inflated that figure. Considering the movie’s wonky nature and light theater count this is unquestionably a strong start, and the movie could get as high as $20 million for the three-day frame.”
Wreck-It Ralph and Flight came in at fourth and fifth place at Friday’s box office.
Leave a Comment