Latest Twilight bites into box office
Arts/Life
Posted By QMI AGENCY
Posted 2 months ago
The latest Twilight movie earned $262 million during its first five days at the worldwide box office, but fell short of forecasts in North America while the foreign sales picture was murky.
The Twilight Saga: Eclipsesold about $162 million worth of tickets in the U.S. and Canada, distributor Summit Entertainment said Sunday.
But a day earlier, the studio had forecast a five-day haul of about $173 million. Its predecessor,The Twilight Saga: New Moon,had earned about $165 million at the same point last November.
Summit said the Saturday forecast was simply a rough estimate, and it was not too concerned aboutEclipsegetting off to a slower start thanNew Moon.
Even though the relentless hype on the vampire romance series soared to new levels, Americans in general are more concerned with Independence Day holiday weekend festivities, said Richie Fay, Summit's president of domestic theatrical distribution.
"I think it has a ways to go before we can say it's falling short," Fay said.
Internationally, the picture earned about $100 million in 42 countries. Direct comparisons withNew Moon, which opened to $118 million from just 25 countries, was difficult because Summit released data from just three countries: Spain, Italy and Australia.
Sales in all three countries were lower forEclipse before adjusting for exchange rate movements, theatre counts and the number of days of release.
In North America, Summit was heartened that more male moviegoers were taking in the adventures of teen Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart), vampire Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) and werewolf Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner).
Men accounted for about a third of the audience, up from one-fifth forNew Moon.
As usual, female "Twi-hard" fans lined up for days outside theatres before the film opened Wednesday across the U.S. and Canada.
Summit predicted Eclipse sales would reach $181 million in North America after business for the American Indepence Day holiday Monday was counted. But that six-day sum is down sharply from its Saturday forecast of $199 million.
For the traditional Friday-to-Sunday period,Eclipseearned an estimated $69 million, enjoying a wide lead over the rest of the field.
Opening at No. 2 wasThe Last Airbender, which exceeded expectations despite being one of the worst-reviewed movies of the year. Director M. Night Shyamalan's adaptation of a Nickelodeon cartoon series earned $40.65 million for the three-day period. Including Thursday sales, its total stands at $53.2 million, said distributor Paramount Pictures.
The Viacom Inc. unit predicted the film's total would rise to $70.5 million with the inclusion of Monday sales, outpacing its hopes for a $50 million-plus opening.
The $150 million project generated worse reviews than even Adam Sandler's latest filmGrown Ups.Critics and protesters were incensed that the Indian-born Shyamalan cast mostly white actors in roles that were originated by Asian actors.
Paramount countered that was Shyamalan's creative choice, and the cast was still more diverse than any other summer release.
After two weeks at No. 1, Walt Disney Co's Pixar cartoonToy Story 3slipped to No. 3 with $30.2 million.
Topic guidelines: We welcome your thoughts, stories and information related to this article.
Please stay on topic and be respectful of others. Keep the conversation appropriate for interested readers.
