Update!

Box Office: Breaking Dawn Part 2 Rises to $141.3 Million

New Moon maintains record as franchise's biggest-opener; new Twilight film's debut is on par with Breaking Dawn Part 1's

By Joal Ryan Nov 19, 2012 8:00 AMTags
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UPDATE: Final numbers released Monday put Breaking Dawn Part 2's opening weekend at $141.1 million.

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The Twilght's franchise's final opening weekend was not unlike its first one: massive.

Breaking Dawn Part 2 will have grossed $141.3 million since opening Thursday night, its studio estimated Sunday.

Its three-day-plus take is nearly equal to the one by Breaking Dawn Part 1, and just below that of the franchise record-holder, New Moon

If estimates hold, the gross will be the eighth-largest opening weekend on record as stat keepers are counting the film's Thursday night-Friday a.m. business as its opening-day business (likely because those are the only numbers available). Taken 2, which also screened at 10 p.m., Thursday in advance of its midnight shows, similarly enjoyed an opening-day-enhanced bounce.

Breaking Dawn Part 2's reported opening weekend is the fourth-biggest of a hit-and-miss year that hit very big when it hit. Of 2012's mega-blockbusters, it ranks behind The Avengers, The Dark Knight Rises and The Hunger Games.

Some more factoids:

  • Breaking Dawn Part 2 earned the franchise's best CinemaScores, its studio said, with opening-weekend audiences grading the Bill Condon film an A. (It also got the franchise's highest critical rating at Rotten Tomatoes.)
  • Internationally, the movie is off to a nearly $200 million start. Add in the domestic gross, and the film's worldwide take stands at $340.9 million.
  • Take out the Thursday night-midnight screenings, and Breaking Dawn Part 2 is the first Twilight film to grow from Friday to Saturday, the studio said.
  • Of the 10 biggest opening weekends of all-time, Twilight movies now own three, the most of any franchise.
  • Here are all the Twilight opening weekends at a glance: New Moon, $142.8 million; Breaking Dawn Part 2, $141.3 million; Breaking Dawn Part 1, $138.1 million; Twilight, $69.6 million; Eclipse, $64.8 million—the only film in the series to open on a Wednesday, and in the summer. 

Overall, it was a huge weekend for Hollywood, and not only because of Breaking Dawn Part 2.

Skyfall ($41.5 million) held up, Steven Spielberg's Lincoln ($21 million) made a bigger-than-expected wide-release debut, and Wreck-It Ralph ($18.3 million) continued to roll.

In limited release, Oscar hopefuls Silver Linings Playbook ($458,430 at 16 theaters, per Exhibitor Relations) and Anna Karenina ($315,395 also at 16 locations) got off to great starts.

All told, ticket sales were up nearly 50 percent from last weekend.

Where Breaking Dawn Part 2's opening day ranked

Here's a rundown of the top 10 all-time opening weekends, as compiled per BoxOfficeMojo.com numbers:

  1. The Avengers, $200.3 million
  2. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, $169.2 million
  3. The Dark Knight Rises, $160.9 million
  4. The Dark Knight, $158.4 million
  5. The Hunger Games, $152.5 million
  6. Spider-Man 3, $151.1 million
  7. The Twilight Saga: New Moon, $142.8 million
  8. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2, $141.3 million (Note: includes 10 p.m., Thursday business)
  9. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1, $138.1 million
  10. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, $135.6 million

(Originally published at 9:05 a.m. PT on Nov. 18, 2012.)