"Twilight" Starts Huge With A $27M Friday

Deadline Hollywood Daily:

First numbers show that Summit Entertainment's low cost blockbuster Twilight opened huge as expected because of heavy pre-sales with $32.7M Friday from 3,419 theaters, including $7M worth of Thursday midnight shows, for what should be $65M for its first North American weekend in release. (One rival studio bigwig thinks it made as much as a "jaw dropping" $35M, telling me: "Even figuring a big drop tomorrow, it has to be a mid-$70sM weekend.") Fangirls -- or should I say fang-girls -- were buying 5 Twilight tickets per second as of early Friday morning, making Twilight online ticket-seller Fandango's fastest-selling film since The Dark Knight last July.

Read the whole story: Deadline Hollywood Daily

Comments

[bthechangeyouseek]

04:50 PM on 11/23/2008

I am early forties, and I read the series this summer, as our daughter has been counting down to the movie for months. She is on her third reading. The books are excellent. The movie was, well...missing depth. A lot of depth. The characters are so well developed in the books and the movie just does not do them justice. It seemed rushed, and was similar to watching a surface skim; without details. Even the scenery lacked luster, which is important in bringing details you cannot talk about to life. I enjoyed Harry Potter-- books and movies. Steven King books are made into great movies. I understand a 500 page book developed down into a 100 page script can leave much lacking...but a new screenwriter is imperative for the next movie to keep the appeal. I would not have missed it, and yes we will buy it when it comes out, but I am hoping that the director will look for a more sophisticated writer to translate the story to screen. I hope Stephanie insists on it.

[bthechangeyouseek]

04:58 PM on 11/23/2008

I just finished reading many of the comments. Being from Utah, not Mormon, I don't think Stephanie really has any agenda other than to write a story, develop it through its illogical concluson and yes, make money. Yes, my 17 year old reads a lot, and this is one of her favorite series. It was great to discuss the books with her and the story. It was an opportunity to discuss relationships and human psyche. I hope other parents are able to do the same.

[FabulousAt52]

10:10 AM on 11/23/2008

By the way...
I couldn't decide which was worse; the slack jawed acting, the laughable powder-white-skin look of the vampires, (that no one else in the town seemed to noticed, by the way) or the stupid dialogue.

[FabulousAt52]

10:05 AM on 11/23/2008

Saw the movie with my sister-in-law and her 17 year old daughter just last night.

*sigh* Terrible. No... Gawd-awful! Two hours wasted that I will never get back to do over....

Note: Sister-in-law fell asleep a couple of times, I was bored to tears and almost broke out in laughter at inappropriate times (it was THAT bad!) but 17 year old niece "liked it!"

I really hope her taste in entertainment improves as she matures....

[Wolfgang]

09:09 AM on 11/23/2008

The scary part is that thirteen year old girls are buying tickets online with credit cards. There are few things more frightening than a teenage girl with a credit card. No wonder our economy is going over a cliff.

[redheaded1]

07:06 PM on 11/22/2008

I'm 48 but somehow I have a desire to read this novel or even the series.

I wasn't sorry I tried Harry Potter.

[Adrienne Williams]

08:47 PM on 11/22/2008

Oh I adore Harry Potter, and glad I finally got into the books and movies... the fact that we have to wait so long for the next installment is a bear!

[ucla matta]

04:38 PM on 11/22/2008

Surrounded by children daily, I am reminded by ever tween about the excitement over this movie.

G'damnit, now I find it on HuffingtonPost, my home away from home?! There is no stopping it...

[peachesmahoney]

02:15 PM on 11/22/2008

I am not the demographic for these books or the movie but I totally love them! Why? I suppose it's because it takes me back to being a dramatic teen reading Ann Rice novels and wearing all black. Plus, Meyer writes good angst. Sure it's not Proust but it's good old turn your brain off fun.

[andvoodoo2]

11:11 AM on 11/22/2008

My 17 year old read the books. At first, she liked them. Then, she became increasingly disgusted with them. She couldn't believe the heroine was willing to throw away an opportunity to go to Dartmouth so she could bet married and have a baby at 18. Also, she said the books promoted a very unrealistic view of love. I think the Mormon author has an agenda and it has nothing to do with encouraging her young female fans to get an education and live a little before they marry.

BTW, I saw the female star give an interview on Letterman the other night. Speaking of eschewing education...

[Isis N]

12:39 PM on 11/22/2008

I'm impressed. I couldn't even read them when I tried! Plus, that woman - she's no author, I don't care - ripped off a bunch of other "paranormal" authors and put all that she stole together to create new characters. Where I come from, that's plagiarism!

[jillsond]

02:43 AM on 11/23/2008

Thank you! I'm forcing my 13 yr old to read Bram Stoker's Dracula. I promised her I won't force her to read anything again. I read Twilight and I can see why any tween could get hooked, but it's like encouraging Britney to be a role model when you have Dorothy Parker out there. The intellectual stretch is really that far.

[walleymr]

09:23 AM on 11/22/2008

That guy looks like one of the Muppets in that picture.