'Twilight' takes huge bite out of weekend movie sales

LOS ANGELES - Agence France-Presse

ABACAPRESS.COM photo

The final chapter of the blockbuster "Twilight" vampire film franchise earned some $138 million in its debut, taking a huge bite out of weekend movie ticket sales, industry estimates showed Sunday, AFP reported.

"The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 2," is the fifth and final installment of the wildly popular series based on novels by Stephenie Meyer. The previous four films, starting with the 2008 series opener "Twilight," earned a colossal $2.4 billion altogether.

In second place was the new James Bond movie "Skyfall," last week's top earner, which earned an estimated $41.5 million, according to box office tracker Exhibitor Relations.

Third place went to the debut of the Steven Spielberg film "Lincoln," starring Daniel Day Lewis in the role of America's assassinated 16th president, which had $21 million in ticket sales.

"Wreck-It Ralph," the animated Disney film about a video game villain with dreams of becoming a hero, earned $18.3 million for fourth place.

Fifth went to the movie "Flight," a star vehicle for Denzel Washington, who plays a crash-landing pilot with substance abuse problems. It pulled in $8.6 million.

In sixth place was "Argo," based on the true story of six Americans spirited out of Iran during the 1979-80 hostage crisis. The film directed by and starring Ben Affleck earned $4 million.

"Taken 2," Liam Neeson's return as ex-CIA agent Bryan Mills, racked up $2.1 million for seventh place.

The eighth spot went to "Pitch Perfect," a musical-comedy about a capella singing groups, which earned $1.5 million.

Ninth place was won by "Here Comes the Boom," a comedy starring Kevin James as a high school teacher on a quest to become a mixed martial arts fighter, with $1.2 million in tickets sold.

The final spot in the top 10 was taken by "Hotel Transylvania," a computer-animated comedy about an overprotective vampire dad intent on protecting his adolescent daughter against a budding romance with a human boy. It earned $900,000.