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Is Tron: Legacy the Next Avatar?!

by Peter Gicas Fri., Dec. 17, 2010 12:48 PM PST

Walt Disney Pictures

The new Tron: Legacy is obviously hoping to leave a bit of a legacy behind when it comes to the box office.

But just how well did this long-awaited sequel to the early '80s sci-fi cult flick do during its debut at midnight screenings? Did it overshadow Eclipse? Was it able to pummel Potter?

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Yeah, right.

But while it wasn't able to whizz past such all-time midnight champs as Eclipse ($30 million), New Moon ($26.3 million) and the recent Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 ($24 million), Tron did manage to pull in about $3.5 million.

Sure, that's obviously way less than what those three behemoths raked in, but it does put it slightly past Inception's take at that time earlier this year of $3 million, and right on par with Avatar, which earned the same amount during its midnight showings last year before going on to becoming the highest-grossing movie ever. (We're just sayin'.)

Of course, how Tron fares the rest of the weekend remains to be seen as it goes head-to-head with the likes of Reese Witherspoon and a certain bear with an affinity towards picnic baskets.

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