As the countdown to the midnight release of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1 turns from days to hours, Summit is making one final publicity push to see how high they can propel the film’s opening weekend box office numbers.
The latest Breaking Dawn tease involves Robert Pattinson partaking in some action with a pack of angry werewolves. Pattinson’s Edward, Jasper (Jackson Rathbone) and Alice (Ashley Greene) stand between the wolves and the Cullen abode where a pregnant Bella (Kristen Stewart) is struggling for her life. The wolves attack, and from the looks of the clip, gain the upper hand on their vampire foes.
Estimates are starting to come in on how much cash Breaking Dawn will suck out of moviegoers this weekend. Low ball estimates are suggesting around $125 million from Friday’s early midnight screenings through Sunday. Other estimates are pegging the opening to come in between $140 and $150 million.
Looking back at the previous Twilight films, Breaking Dawn is definitely opening in the franchise’s sweet spot to dominate the box office. The previous film, Eclipse, was the only one to open in the summer and took in $64.8 million in its first weekend. That’s $5 million shy of the original Twilight, and well below the $142 million New Moon opened to in November 2009.
Considering the high profile events that take place in Breaking Dawn, I’d be surprised if it came in below what New Moon put up. As of Monday, Fandango had sold out more than 2,500 showings of Breaking Dawn and additional screens are being added to meet demand.
Where do you think The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1 will land in terms of opening weekend ticket sales? Sound off in the comments below.
