Friday Estimates: Breaking Dawn Has Third-Best Opening Day

November 19, 2011

Displaying remarkable consistency, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 1 almost exactly matched the opening day or its November-opening predecessor, The Twilight Saga: New Moon with $72 million, according to Summit's Saturday morning estimate. Assuming they don't find another $800,000 tucked away somewhere, that will be the third-biggest opening day in history (see full list). The figure is a modest uptick from the $68.5 million debut day of Eclipse in June last year.

The final weekend figure is likely to land in the $130 million to $140 million range. That will put the movie in fifth or sixth on the all-time list (see chart). Clearly fans are remaining enthusiastic as the franchise reaches its climax.

Somewhat less enthusiasm was evident in the opening for Happy Feet 2, which posted $5.9 million on its way to maybe $20 million this weekend. It will have a shot at redemption over Thanksgiving weekend, although it'll have plenty of competition ton contend with.

- The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 1
- Friday Estimates
- Biggest Single Days at the Box Office

Bruce Nash (

Filed under: Friday Estimates, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 1