Weekend Box Office | featured news

The latest “Twilight” movie has plenty of daylight left with a second-straight win at the weekend box office. “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 1” took in $42 million domestically over the three-day weekend and $62.3 million in the five-day Thanksgiving boom time from Wednesday to Sunday. That raised its domestic total to $221.3 million, while the Summit Entertainment release added $71.5 million overseas to lift the international total to $268 million and the worldwide take to $489.3 million.

Summit Entertainment's The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn--Part 1 opened with a sharp bite around the globe, grossing $139.5 million domestically and $144 million overseas for a franchise best $283.5 million.

The 3D toon grosses $33 million, nearly as much as its opening, while "Tower Heist" debuts to a subdued $25.1 million; "A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas" launches to $13.1 million, just behind last title in franchise.

The "Shrek" spinoff "Puss in Boots" landed on all fours, opening with an estimated $34 million to lead the box office. The DreamWorks 3-D animated film, distributed by Paramount Pictures, proved the popular character voiced by Antonio Banderas was a big enough draw outside the "Shrek" franchise... But the largest estimated opening didn't happen in North America. "The Adventures of Tintin," which is being distributed overseas by Sony Pictures and Paramount Pictures, opened in 19 international markets and hauled in $55.8 million.

The robot boxers of "Real Steel" and the dancers of "Footloose" are in a tight fight for the box-office title. The Hugh Jackman tale about machines in the boxing ring took in $16.3 million, which would make it the No. 1 movie for the second-straight weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday. But "Real Steel" came in barely ahead of the remake "Footloose," which opened with $16.1 million.

Boxing robots are the undisputed champions at the weekend box office. According to studio estimates Sunday, Hugh Jackman’s “Real Steel,” set in a near-future when robot fighters have replaced humans in the ring, debuted at No. 1 with $27.3 million. “Real Steel” added $22.1 million overseas for a worldwide total of $49.4 million. The movie casts Jackman as a former boxer reluctantly thrown together with his young son as they turn a junkyard robot into a world-class contender.

Alcon Entertainment and Warner Bros.' inspirational Dolphin Tale took the No. 1 spot in its second weekend with $14.2 million, wresting the box office crown from fellow family pic The Lion King. Dolphin Tale fell only 27 percent--proving again the clout of an A+ CinemaScore—and ended the weekend with a domestic cume of $37.5 million. The movie's staying power is a victory for Broderick Johnson and Andrew Kosove's Alcon, the same production company behind The Blind Side, another film that played to both general moviegoers and faith-based audiences.

Jaws dropped in Hollywood on Sunday: For the second weekend in a row, a 17-year-old movie, “The Lion King,” was No. 1 at the North American box office. That animated film, re-released by Walt Disney Studios in 3-D, took in an estimated $22 million for a two-week total of $61.7 million, according to Hollywood.com, which compiles ticketing statistics.

This weekend, grossing as much as the rest of the top five combined, the virus thriller Contagion opened at number one topping a sluggish frame that saw ticket sales slump to a new low for the year. The Warner Bros. drama scored an estimated $23.1M bow from 3,222 theaters (including 257 higher-priced IMAX screens) for a sturdy $7,180 average playing to a mature adult crowd.

"The Help" has stayed on the job over Labor Day, finishing as the No. 1 film for the third-straight weekend. The acclaimed drama about Southern black maids speaking out during the civil-rights movement took in $19 million over the long holiday weekend, according to studio estimates Monday.