'Breaking Dawn Pt. 2' begins the goodbye with $30.4 million from Midnights

Is a record weekend in Bella's future?

By Gregory Ellwood Friday, Nov 16, 2012 2:02 PM

Kellan Lutz and Kristen Stewart decide who is the strongest the old fashioned way in a scene from "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Pt. 2"

Credit: Summit Entertainment

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These are melancholy times for "Twilight" fans. On one hand, the second act of "Breaking Dawn" is finally in theaters. Of course, it's also currently the last film based on Stephenie Meyers' popular vampire saga. As demonstrated by the huge interest when "Harry Potter" ended with "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Pt. 2" a little over a year ago, it was no surprise that "Twilight" fans flocked to their local multiplexes at midnight to say goodbye to Bella, Edward and Jacob.

"The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Pt. 2" pulled in $30.4 million from midnight screenings for a massive start to the three-day frame. The figure is a tad higher than "Breaking Dawn, Pt. 1's" $30.25 million and "Eclipse's" $30 million midnight cumes.

While impressive, the $30.4 million gross is still far behind "Deathly Hallows, Pt. 2's" $43.5 million midnight record. Comparatively, "The Avengers" and "The Dark Knight Rises" found $18.7 million and $30.6 million from the witching hour earlier this year.

Pre-release polling indicates "Breaking Dawn, Pt. 2" has a solid chance of breaking the franchise's opening weekend record of $142.8 million set three years ago.

The expected blockbuster will have plenty of competition, however. "Skyfall" is coming off a massive $90 million opening frame and has already grossed $114 million in just six days. DreamWorks' "Lincoln" is also expanding to over 1,700 theaters. "Silver Linings Playbook" and "Anna Karenina" are both opening in 16 engagements across the country.

Look for box office updates Saturday and Sunday on HitFix.

Gregory Ellwood
Editor-in-Chief, Co-Founder

With over a decade of experience in the movie industry, Ellwood survived working for two major studios and has written for Variety, MSN and the LA Times. A co-founder of HitFix, Ellwood spends his time relaxing hitting 3’s on the basketball court and following his beloved Clippers.