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

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

by Joal Ryan Mon., Nov. 19, 2012 12:00 AM PST

THE TWILIGHT SAGA: BREAKING DAWN, PART 2

Summit Entertainment

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.

Spoiler alert: Breaking Dawn Part 2's big twist

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.

Why Breaking Dawn Part 2 is the best Twilight movie

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.

The critical verdict on Breaking Dawn Part 2

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:

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