luv4zion: Breaking Dawn

Breaking Dawn Part 1

Breaking Dawn' Breaks Box-Office Records Latest 'Twilight' entry has third-highest opening day ever.

"The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1" is opening to huge numbers, pulling in an estimated $71.4 on Friday.

That puts the latest installment of Summit's vampire romance franchise on track to gross $140 million this weekend.

Box-office watchers had predicted the movie would open to about $140 million. Summit, meanwhile, had more conservative estimates of about $125 million.

Early estimates show the Warner Bros. "Happy Feet Two," meanwhile, opening to far more modest numbers. Rival-studio estimates have the animated 3D movie taking in only about $6 million on Friday. That movie looks to be heading to about $21 million for the weekend -- soft, but enough to make it No. 2 at the box office.

And Relativity's "Immortals," which was the No. 1 movie at last week's box office, took an estimated $3.8 million on Friday. It is expected to gross $12.7 this weekend.

Also Read: 'Breaking Dawn' Sinks Teeth into $30.2M Midnight Opening

Earlier:

Sensing that end is nigh for their favorite vampire romance franchise, members of Team Edward and Team Jacob will flock to the movie theaters this weekend to see “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1.”

But will tween ticket-buyers turn out in enough force to propel the Summit sequel to record numbers?

It's unlikely, but even if the sequel falls short of those lofty marks, it still stands to sink its teeth into an awful lot of green. The first installment in the two-part finale is on pace to bank $140 million this weekend in 4,061 theaters.

Also opening wide this weekend: Warner Bros.' animated sequel "Happy Feet Two"; Fox Searchlight Oscar hopeful "The Descendants," meanwhile, will expand to 27 theaters Friday from the five it opened up with Wednesday.

Also read: Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart Dish on Sex Scenes at the 'Breaking Dawn' Premiere

"Breaking Dawn's" projections fall short of the $169 million all-time record set by “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2” last summer, but should be roughly in line with the franchise's highest grossing opener, the $140 million posted by 2009's "New Moon."

The studio is feeling more conservative, projecting an opening weekend on the order of $125 million.

Summit did not release the number of theaters that plan to host midnight screenings, but studio executives told TheWrap that the movie may be a 12 a.m. record breaker.

It could easily surpass the $43.5 million benchmark set by “Deathly Hallows Part 2” in late night showings.

Also read: 'Breaking Dawn' Premiere: Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner Steal the Show

If Twi-hards are particularly eager to catch the latest entry in the vampire romance saga -- a gorier and sexier affair that includes a trip to the altar, a deflowering and a grisly demon child birth -- it may shatter the single day record of $92 million set by the bespectacled wizard.

“Those midnight showings are where they always excel, so they’re almost certain to get the single day gross record,” a rival studio executive told TheWrap. “The question is can they sustain it? Do they get all those girls out and then fall off a cliff.”

Making those heady numbers all the loftier, Summit produced the tentpole film at a relatively modest budget.

After tax rebates, “Breaking Dawn - Part 1” cost the studio $110 million, much of it in cast salaries.

As TheWrap reported exclusively last spring, a prospectus given to potential investors revealed that "Breaking Dawn - Part 1” cost $127.5 million. According to those documents, Summit had only has $38.4 million at risk thanks to foreign pre-sales.

Also read: The Secret Summit Prospectus: $1.2B Projected for ‘Breaking Dawn’

The bad news is that “Breaking Dawn - Part 1” will likely suck the blood out of the rest of the box office.

Box office watchers predict that “Happy Feet Two” will fall short of the $41.5 million opening enjoyed by the first film.

The dancing penguins sequel is predicted to rack up $30 million over the weekend in 3,606 locations, 2,800 of which are 3D compatible. The Warner Brothers film cost $140 million to produce.

Also feeling the “Twilight” burn will be last weekend’s box office champion, “The Immortals.” Relativity’s sword and sandals epic should see its numbers fall over 50 percent to $17 million, if predictions prove right.

In addition to Arctic creatures and vampires, a decidedly human drama will enter the marketplace. Fox Searchlight’s “The Descendants” opened Wednesday in five New York and Los Angeles theaters. It will expand to 11 markets, including Boston, San Francisco and Dallas, over the weekend, bringing its theater count to 27.

The critically adored film should rack up around $30,000. Starring George Clooney, the comedy-drama centers on a man trying to reconnect with his daughters while his wife lies in a coma. It marks writer and director Alexander Payne’s first film behind the camera since 2004’s “Sideways.”

“It’s a good story that people can really identify with and the performances are outstanding,” Sheila DeLoach, Fox Searchlight’s executive VP of distribution, told TheWrap. “We’’re really thrilled to see the reviews come in. That is a big plus to the film and helps its box office.”

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Breaking Dawn Poster

The Craziest Fan-Made Posters From 'Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 1'.

Everybody knows that Twilight is a big freaking deal. Breaking Dawn Part 1 is an especially big deal because BELLA AND EDWARD FINALLY DO IT AND HE DOES IT SO HARD THAT THE BED BREAKS. See? That's how excitable this movie is. I didn't even turn on Caps Lock, my computer did it on its own.

Anyway, at any premiere there will be tons of fans holding up posters for their favorite movie stars to sign. Personally, I think these are the people are the real stars. Yeah, that's right I said it. F*ck you, Kristen Stewart, and your impossibly long legs.

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Breaking Dawn Movie Release Date

With the release date of 'The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1' upon us, it's no surprise that millions of fans are lining up and shelling out their hard-earned bucks to watch the midnight showings. Before you watch the film, catch our predictions of the scenes that will be in and cut out of the movie.

Twi-hards rejoice! 'Breaking Dawn' is nearly a day away and judging from the hype this film will eclipse (he he) all the others. Judging solely from the trailer, word around the web, and the original novels, we are compiling a list of scenes from the books that will most likely be featured in and probably cut out of the film.

THE OPENING SCENE

Similar to the trailer, it seems that 'Breaking Dawn - Part 1' will waste no time digging right into the plot. The movie will probably open with the wedding scene, maybe even some pre-wedding prep, but very little. The book is comprised of three sections and it seems that two of those will be covered in 'Breaking Dawn - Part 1.'

FEATURED SCENES & THEMES THAT ARE FUNDAMENTAL TO THE SERIES & FILMS

As the film progresses, we expect that certain scenes will no doubt be precisely transitioned from the pages to the big screen.

The love-making scenes had some major build up in both the novels and the films, so 'Breaking Dawn - Part 1' has to make it worth it for the audiences. Similar to the book, though, don't expect anything too graphic or too detailed. 'Breaking Dawn' the novel had the now infamous line 'Fade to black' to shield readers from the intimate details. We expect the film to do the same.

Two other themes of 'Breaking Dawn' that will need and most likely receive emphasis in the film will be the strong bond between Bella and Rosalie throughout the pregnancy and the wolf pack drama and Volturi as threats.

Bella turns to Rosalie for support when she discovers that she is pregnant and that Edward would rather have the fetus 'taken care of' by Carlisle. The film needs to have this part of the plot to develop properly, so we can better understand the dynamic of the Cullen family and the pregnancy woes.

As for the threats or villains in Part 1, it seems that the Alpha male drama that splits up the wolf pack will still be a central theme, but the Volturi will no doubt play an integral part in the film to prepare the audience for part 2. Building anticipation, but still living up to the books true plot.

SCENES THAT WILL MOST LIKELY BE CUT OUT OF THE FILMS

As in all books to movies transitions, not all scenes will be featured. Whether it's for the sake of time or simply because it's not in line with what the audience needs to see, it just happens.

The honeymoon escapade, especially the love-making part, is actually quite a bit of the book, but the movies will have to jump into the problem (a.k.a. the pregnancy) right away. In the novel, Edward tries to avoid having sex with Bella because he's afraid that he is harming her. He does this by having tons of activities planned throughout the day to tire Bella out. Chances are movie fans don't want to see or hear this. Bella will probably end up pregnant after the first or second love scene in the movie.

Once Bella is pregnant, the local housekeeper warns Edward of the evil seed he has implanted in Bella. This, although interesting, might not make it to the film.

One thing to note, 'Breaking Dawn' the novel was written in three different parts and in two different perspectives, Bella's and Jacob's. Movie audiences won't see this and won't be able to get a sense of the inner workings of the characters' minds. For example, there's a part where Jacob simply cannot bear to be near Bella anymore and runs away to imprint on any girl he finds to eliminate his feelings for her. Simple things we might not see on the silver screen.

THE ENDING SCENE OF 'PART 1'

'Breaking Dawn - Part 1' will go out with a bang. The film really needs to build up for the final of the saga. We predict that the film will either cut off when Bella flatlines after giving birth or when Jacob first lays eyes on Renesmee.