Pamela McClintock of THR:
Summit Entertainment's Twilight vampire series -- proving that females can fuel an event franchise -- is going out in high style.
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn -- Part 2 topped the worldwide weekend box office with a sizeable $340.9 million opening, including $141.3 million domestically from 4,070 theaters and $199.6 million internationally from 61 markets.
In North America, Breaking Dawn 2 wasn't able to match the $142.8 million opening of The Twilight Saga: New Moon on the same weekend in 2009, but it did open ahead of the $138.1 million grossed by The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn -- Part 1 on the same weekend last year, thanks in part to especially strong Saturday traffic and an A CinemaScore.
Overseas, Breaking Dawn 2 opened well ahead of previous Twilight films in almost every territory.
Directed by Bill Condon, Breaking Dawn 2 returns Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner in the lead roles for a final time. The Twilight franchise has been a resounding victory for all involved, and put Summit Entertainment on the map.
Breaking Dawn 2 drew more males than any previous title in the series, who made up 21 percent of those buying tickts. In terms of age, 50 percent of the audience was 25 years and older, reflecting the aging fanbase.
Other headlines at the domstic box office included Sam Mendes' Skyfall, which finished the weekend with a worldwide total of $669.2 million to become the top grossing Bond pic of all time, not accounting for inflation.
Skyfall, starring Daniel Craig, grossed a stellar $41.5 million in its second weekend domestically and pushing its North American total to $161.3 million. Overseas, the film has earned a massive $507.9 million for partners MGM, EON Productions and Sony.
Steven Spielberg's awards contender Lincoln also made news as it expanded nationwide. The historical drama took in a strong $21 million from 1,775 theaters for a location average of $11,831. Lincoln, which opened in a handful of markets the previous weekend has taken in a total of $22.4 million.
The DreamWorks film, distributed by Disney domestically and made in association with Participant Media, came in No. 3, despite its modest screen count. Lincoln stars Daniel Day Lewis as the iconic president. Fox co-financed Lincoln and is handling the film internationally.
A pair of high-profile award contenders debuted at the specialty box office, David O. Russell's Silver Linings Playbook and Joe Wright's Anna Karenina. Both films did solid, but not spectacular, business.
Silver Linings, from The Weinstein Co., grossed $458,430 as it opened in 16 theaters in select cities for a location average of $28,652. The film stars Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro and Jacki Weaver
Anna Karenina, starring Keira Knightley and from Focus Features, also opened in 16 theaters in select cities, grossing $315,395 for a location average of $19,712. The novel take on the classic novel has already earned $10.8 million overseas.
Meantime--Get more info on Skyfall--the latest James Bond film (my review) as it hits a franchise milestone...
Looking ahead It's gonna be a wild week at the box office as Thanksgiving arrives. On Wed: The long delayed Red Dawn remake starring Chris Hemsworth, Josh Hutcherson, Adrianne Palicki, Josh Peck, Isabel Lucas, Edwin Hodge and Jeffrey Dean Morgan is ready for action; The CG animated Rise of the Guardians hopes to snag the family audience; Director Ang Lee brings his 3-D adaptation of Yann Martel's beloved novel Life Of Pi to the screen; You can also learn how Hitchcock made his 1960 classic Psycho
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