"Breaking Dawn Part 2," the last film in the "Twilight" series, absolutely dominating the global box office, taking in an astounding $340.9 million in its first weekend.
That's a sum which is sure to please "Breaking Dawn" distributor Summit Entertainment and its parent company, Lionsgate. The fourth and final "Twilight" film earned $141.3 million at the domestic box office and dialed up $199.6 million in international grosses. As the studio noted in its estimate, that's the second-highest domestic weekend opening for a "Twilight" film, just shy of the $142.8 million that "New Moon" brought in over the same time period in 2009. The franchise as a whole has now claimed three of the top 10 openings of all time, with "Breaking Dawn Part 2" coming in at No. 8.
Lionsgate was also quick to point out that it became the first studio to release two movies that opened to over $125 million in the same year. In March, Liongsate released "The Hunger Games" and watched its domestic total top $152 million on opening weekend.
But "Breaking Dawn" was hardly the only film to entice moviegoers this weekend. "Skyfall," the latest of Daniel Craig's Bond movies, set a record for that franchise, raking in $669.2 million since its global debut. Now in its second week in the States, director Sam Mendes' brooding take on 007 has passed $161.3 million at the domestic box office.
Bond's take pushed Sony to its best year ever, surpassing $4 billion in global ticket sales.
Elsewhere, Steven Spielberg's "Lincoln" continued to charm audiences, earning $21 million in its first week of wide release at the domestic box office. The Oscar contender, starring Daniel Day-Lewis, brought in an average of $11,831 per theater.
