Friday Box Office – The Twiliht Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1 Grabs $72 Million on Opening Day

Ah, Twilight Saga. How I’ve missed you. It’s been seventeen months since Eclipse, the last entry in the record-breaking series, sent breathless crowds of Twi-hards into theatres. And given the disappointing year we’ve been having, I had to wonder whether Breaking Dawn Part 1 would inspire the same level of box office devotion that I remember. My answer appears to be a resounding ‘hell yes.’ The penultimate pic of The Twilight Saga captured a series-best $30.3 million from its midnight launch and a first day estimate of $72 million. That total falls between 2010’s Eclipse ($68.5) and 2009’s New Moon ($72.7) and, if accurate, would give Breaking Dawn Part 1 the third-highest opening day in box office history. It also puts the film on track for a weekend of $140 million, an achievement on par with New Moon’s $142.8 million series record. Strangely enough, another big sequel gambled on opening opposite Breaking Dawn Part »