Twilight's 'Breaking Dawn' Falls Short of Breaking Midnight Opening Record
Despite a very strong opening – and undying support from Twi-hards – the latest film in the Twilight series “Breaking Dawn: Part 1” could not break the midnight opening box office record.
“Breaking Dawn: Part 1” grossed an estimated $30.3 million in opening midnight screenings, according to the film’s studio.
“The phenomenal take is a new high for the vampire series, but lacks the shock and awe of previous openings,” said E1 online.
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"Breaking Dawn" failed to top the midnight opening set by “Harry Potter and The Deathly Hollows: Part 2” that earned $43.5 million in its July 2011 midnight opening. The Harry Potter film continued to earn $170 million in its opening weekend. Meanwhile, “New Moon” had the biggest Twilight opening weekend to date with $143 million.
The "Breaking Dawn" debut could collect an estimated $110 million to $140 million solely in the United States, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Movie website BoxOffice predicts the film will make up to $150 million.
Although it did not set the record, Twi-hard’s made “The Twilight Saga” one of the most successful movie series to date.
“The Twilight franchise has already earned $1.8 billion globally, according to Box Office Mojo, from the first three movies in the series. With one more film in the pipeline (the second part of Breaking Dawn) the franchise could easily end up earning more than $3 billion,” said Dorothy Pomerantz of Forbes.
“The final film will have the ticket-hiking advantage of being shown in 3-D,” Pomerantz added.
Directed by Bill Condon, “Breaking Dawn: Part 1” stars Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner and features the wedding of Belle and Edward. When she is pregnant, the coven and wolf pack try to take the happily married couple’s child.
"Breaking Dawn" is the fourth and final book in the series, and it was split into two movies.
