Weekend Report: 'Breaking Dawn' Ends 'Twilight' Franchise on Strong Note
The fifth and final Twilight movie opened to an outstanding $141.1 million this weekend, though that wasn't quite enough to set a new record for the popular franchise. Meanwhile, Skyfall had another strong weekend and Lincoln over-performed in its nationwide debut; as a result, the Top 12 earned $242.4 million, which makes this the sixth-highest-grossing weekend ever.
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2's estimated $141.1 million ranks eighth all-time and fourth in 2012 behind The Avengers, The Dark Knight Rises and The Hunger Games. Among Twilight movies, it wound up slightly ahead of predecessor Breaking Dawn Part 1 ($138.1 million), but a tad below New Moon's franchise-best $142.8 million. This makes Twilight the first franchise ever to have three movies earn over $130 million in their first three days.
While this is undeniably a fantastic debut, there's a nagging feeling it should have done slightly better given the movie's finale status; past franchise finales like The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Star Wars: Episode III -Revenge of the Sith easily had the best debuts for their series. At least Twilight didn't see much, if any, audience attrition, which is a rare thing for most franchises.
There are a few indications that Breaking Dawn Part 2 could hang on a bit better than its predecessors. First, its Friday-to-Saturday drop (42 percent) was a slight improvement over Breaking Dawn Part 1 (44 percent). More importantly, it received the best exit polling so far for a Twilight movie, and its "A" CinemaScore ("A+" among those under 25) suggests word-of-mouth will be solid. Ultimately, the movie should earn at least $280 million and could wind up around $300 million.
The audience was 79 female and 21 percent male (highest male share of the franchise so far), and it was split evenly between those above and below 25 years of age.
On Friday, Lionsgate/Summit passed the $1 billion mark for the first time in the company's history, and is now at over $1.1 billion. For 2012, it's going to finish ahead of 20th Century Fox and Paramount, both of which are part of the traditional "Big Six" studios.
In its second outing, Skyfall fell 54 percent to $41.1 million. In comparison, Quantum of Solace fell 60 percent in its second weekend. Through 10 days, Skyfall has earned $160.9 million, and by Wednesday it will pass Quantum's $168.4 million to become the highest-grossing Bond movie ever. Also, using Quantum's pattern, there's a good chance Skyfall winds up with $250 million by the end of its run.
Steven Spielberg's Lincoln expanded to 1,775 locations this weekend and earned an excellent $21.05 million. That's easily the best start ever for a narrative feature about a real-life president ahead of Oliver Stone's 2008 movie W. ($10.5 million). It's also noticeably higher than Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter's $16.3 million. With great reviews, plenty of awards buzz, strong word-of-mouth ("A" CinemaScore) and an audience that skews older (67 percent over 35 years of age), Lincoln should be on track for a very healthy run at the box office.
In fourth place, Wreck-It Ralph dropped 44 percent to $18.6 million. The animated hit has now grossed $121.8 million, and even with direct competition from Rise of the Guardians on Wednesday it's still in line for at least $150 million by the end of its run.
Rounding out the Top Five, Flight fell 41 percent to $8.8 million. Through 17 days, the Denzel Washington addiction drama has grossed $61.5 million.
Opening at 16 locations, Silver Linings Playbook scored $443,003. In comparison, writer-director David O. Russell's last movie, The Fighter, earned $300,010 from just four theaters in its first frame. Aside from tough competition for adult audiences from Skyfall and Lincoln, Silver Linings was also likely hurt by The Weinstein Company's last minute decision to add these playdates, which makes it more difficult to properly raise awareness and book the best screens and the most showtimes. The well-reviewed romantic comedy expands to around 420 theaters on Wednesday.
Anna Karenina also debuted at 16 theaters but only earned $320,690. It's per-theater average was $20,043; director Joe Wright's Atonement had a higher average at twice as many locations when it opened in December 2007.
Discuss this story with fellow Box Office Mojo fans on Facebook. On Twitter, follow us at @boxofficemojo, and follow author Ray Subers at @raysubers.
Related Stories:
• 'Breaking Dawn Part 2' Earns $30.4 Million from Midnight/Thursday Night Shows
• Forecast: 'Twilight' Finale Eyes Record Debut for Franchise
Last Weekend
• 'Skyfall' Scores Best Bond Debut Ever
This Timeframe in Past Years:
• 2011 - 'Breaking Dawn's Huge Debut Just Shy of 'Twilight' Record
• 2010 - 'Deathly' Marks Liveliest 'Harry Potter' Debut Yet
• 2009 - 'New Moon' Opens with Deafening Howl
• 2008 - Box Office Enters 'Twilight' Zone
• 2007 - 'Beowulf' Can't Fell Box Office Blahs
• 2006 - Penguins Tip-Tap Past Bond
• 2005 - Harry Potter's 'Goblet' Runneth Over with Cash
Previous 'Twilight' Opening Weekend Reports:
• 'Breaking Dawn Part 1': 'Breaking Dawn's Huge Debut Just Shy of 'Twilight' Record
• 'Eclipse': 'Eclipse' Swoons But Sweeps Up Over Independence Weekend
• 'New Moon': 'New Moon' Opens with Deafening Howl
• 'Twilight': Box Office Enters 'Twilight' Zone
Related Charts
• Weekend Box Office Results
• All-Time Opening Weekends
• All-Time Friday Share of Opening Weekend
• Biggest Friday-to-Saturday Drops
• Showdown: 'Twilight' Tiff
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2's estimated $141.1 million ranks eighth all-time and fourth in 2012 behind The Avengers, The Dark Knight Rises and The Hunger Games. Among Twilight movies, it wound up slightly ahead of predecessor Breaking Dawn Part 1 ($138.1 million), but a tad below New Moon's franchise-best $142.8 million. This makes Twilight the first franchise ever to have three movies earn over $130 million in their first three days.
While this is undeniably a fantastic debut, there's a nagging feeling it should have done slightly better given the movie's finale status; past franchise finales like The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Star Wars: Episode III -Revenge of the Sith easily had the best debuts for their series. At least Twilight didn't see much, if any, audience attrition, which is a rare thing for most franchises.
There are a few indications that Breaking Dawn Part 2 could hang on a bit better than its predecessors. First, its Friday-to-Saturday drop (42 percent) was a slight improvement over Breaking Dawn Part 1 (44 percent). More importantly, it received the best exit polling so far for a Twilight movie, and its "A" CinemaScore ("A+" among those under 25) suggests word-of-mouth will be solid. Ultimately, the movie should earn at least $280 million and could wind up around $300 million.
The audience was 79 female and 21 percent male (highest male share of the franchise so far), and it was split evenly between those above and below 25 years of age.
On Friday, Lionsgate/Summit passed the $1 billion mark for the first time in the company's history, and is now at over $1.1 billion. For 2012, it's going to finish ahead of 20th Century Fox and Paramount, both of which are part of the traditional "Big Six" studios.
In its second outing, Skyfall fell 54 percent to $41.1 million. In comparison, Quantum of Solace fell 60 percent in its second weekend. Through 10 days, Skyfall has earned $160.9 million, and by Wednesday it will pass Quantum's $168.4 million to become the highest-grossing Bond movie ever. Also, using Quantum's pattern, there's a good chance Skyfall winds up with $250 million by the end of its run.
Steven Spielberg's Lincoln expanded to 1,775 locations this weekend and earned an excellent $21.05 million. That's easily the best start ever for a narrative feature about a real-life president ahead of Oliver Stone's 2008 movie W. ($10.5 million). It's also noticeably higher than Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter's $16.3 million. With great reviews, plenty of awards buzz, strong word-of-mouth ("A" CinemaScore) and an audience that skews older (67 percent over 35 years of age), Lincoln should be on track for a very healthy run at the box office.
In fourth place, Wreck-It Ralph dropped 44 percent to $18.6 million. The animated hit has now grossed $121.8 million, and even with direct competition from Rise of the Guardians on Wednesday it's still in line for at least $150 million by the end of its run.
Rounding out the Top Five, Flight fell 41 percent to $8.8 million. Through 17 days, the Denzel Washington addiction drama has grossed $61.5 million.
Opening at 16 locations, Silver Linings Playbook scored $443,003. In comparison, writer-director David O. Russell's last movie, The Fighter, earned $300,010 from just four theaters in its first frame. Aside from tough competition for adult audiences from Skyfall and Lincoln, Silver Linings was also likely hurt by The Weinstein Company's last minute decision to add these playdates, which makes it more difficult to properly raise awareness and book the best screens and the most showtimes. The well-reviewed romantic comedy expands to around 420 theaters on Wednesday.
Anna Karenina also debuted at 16 theaters but only earned $320,690. It's per-theater average was $20,043; director Joe Wright's Atonement had a higher average at twice as many locations when it opened in December 2007.
Discuss this story with fellow Box Office Mojo fans on Facebook. On Twitter, follow us at @boxofficemojo, and follow author Ray Subers at @raysubers.
Related Stories:
• 'Breaking Dawn Part 2' Earns $30.4 Million from Midnight/Thursday Night Shows
• Forecast: 'Twilight' Finale Eyes Record Debut for Franchise
Last Weekend
• 'Skyfall' Scores Best Bond Debut Ever
This Timeframe in Past Years:
• 2011 - 'Breaking Dawn's Huge Debut Just Shy of 'Twilight' Record
• 2010 - 'Deathly' Marks Liveliest 'Harry Potter' Debut Yet
• 2009 - 'New Moon' Opens with Deafening Howl
• 2008 - Box Office Enters 'Twilight' Zone
• 2007 - 'Beowulf' Can't Fell Box Office Blahs
• 2006 - Penguins Tip-Tap Past Bond
• 2005 - Harry Potter's 'Goblet' Runneth Over with Cash
Previous 'Twilight' Opening Weekend Reports:
• 'Breaking Dawn Part 1': 'Breaking Dawn's Huge Debut Just Shy of 'Twilight' Record
• 'Eclipse': 'Eclipse' Swoons But Sweeps Up Over Independence Weekend
• 'New Moon': 'New Moon' Opens with Deafening Howl
• 'Twilight': Box Office Enters 'Twilight' Zone
Related Charts
• Weekend Box Office Results
• All-Time Opening Weekends
• All-Time Friday Share of Opening Weekend
• Biggest Friday-to-Saturday Drops
• Showdown: 'Twilight' Tiff
