"The Twilight Saga: Eclipse" sold about $162
million worth of tickets in the United States and Canada, distributor Summit
Entertainment said on Sunday.
But a day earlier, the closely held studio had forecast a
five-day haul of about $173 million. Its predecessor, "The Twilight Saga:
New Moon," had earned about $165 million at the same point last November.
Summit said the Saturday forecast was simply a rough
estimate, and it was not too concerned about "Eclipse" getting off to
a slower start than "New Moon."
Even though the relentless hype on the vampire romance
series soared to new levels, Americans in general are more concerned with US
Independence Day holiday weekend festivities, said Richie Fay, Summit's
president of domestic theatrical distribution. He predicted strong midweek
sales.
"I think it has a ways to go before we can say it's
falling short," Fay said.
Internationally, the picture earned about $100 million
from 42 countries. Direct comparisons with "New Moon," which opened
to $118 million from just 25 countries, were difficult because Summit released
data from just three countries: Spain, Italy and Australia.
Sales in all three countries were lower for
"Eclipse" before adjusting for exchange rate movements, theater
counts and the number of days of release. The film will add 22 countries next
weekend, including Britain, France, which were in the first batch of "New
Moon" foreign sales data.
Back in North America, Summit was heartened that more
male moviegoers were taking in the continuing romantic adventures of teen Bella
Swan (Kristen Stewart), vampire Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) and werewolf
Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner). Men accounted for about one-third of the
audience, up from one-fifth for "New Moon."
