‘Breaking Dawn – Part 2’ Punches Second Highest Opening Weekend For Franchise: Eighth Best Debut Of all Time
It didn’t set a new, domestic franchise record, but make no mistake The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 made an absolute killing this weekend.
Dominating box offices and the public’s entertainment conversation, the finale installment in the wildly successful vampire-human-werewolf series took $ 340.9 million worldwide.
Specifically, $ 141.3 million of that came from 4,070 theaters across the US and Canada, while $ 199. 6 million was taken in 61 international markets.
Notably, Breaking Dawn – Part 2 scored the second highest opening weekend for the franchise, coming in behind New Moon’s $ 142.8 million record in 2009 but ahead of Breaking Dawn — Part 1’s $ 138.1 million in 2011.
After a robust start in Thursday late night showings through to Friday midnight which generated $ 30.4 million — the highest midnight run for the franchise — a frontloaded Friday haul racked up $ 71.9 million.
Saturday added another $ 41.8 million and a further $ 27.6 million is estimated from Sunday’s box office.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, this weekend was “the best global opening in the history of the franchise, thanks to massive international business.”
And the milestones kept coming.
As well as hitting a new franchise record for international box office, Friday’s $ 71.9 million opening day (including late night/midnight run) was the sixth highest opening day in history.
Breaking Dawn – Part 2’s box office overall also delivered the eighth highest opening weekend of all time and — along with The Hunger Games’ debut this year — pushed Summit’s parent studio, Lionsgate, past $ 1 billion at the box office. A first for Lionsgate.
Interestingly, director Bill Condon’s closer installment drew more male viewers than previous saga films — 21% of ticket sales. Other statistics revealed 50% of the audiences were aged 25 and above, reflecting the cross-generational appeal of the franchise.
Anticipation for the finale was stoked by a massive promotional tour and premieres around the world with Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart, Taylor Lautner, and the rest of the cast.
Thanks to the fans who came out for Breaking Dawn – Part 2 in a big way, The Twilight Saga goes out with its head held high. Love it or loathe it, female moviegoer consumer power will never be underestimated again.
