Vampires own July Fourth weekend as Eclipse takes $82.5m

The result came from 4,468 theatres – the widest ever launch – for a rock solid per-theatre average of $18,475.

Eclipse got the ball rolling with a massive debut last Wednesday [June 30] when it set the second biggest opening day of $68.5m, behind the record holder and its predecessor, The Twilight Saga: New Moon on $72.7m.

The weekend debut also trailed that of The Twilight Saga: New Moon, which opened on November 20 last year on $142.8m over three days. However Eclipse stands a strong chance of beating New Moon’s final domestic tally of $296.6m. Twilight finished on $192.8m after launching in November 2008.

Combined with the $104.6m international launch over the weekend, Eclipse has already raced to $279.9m worldwide. In IMAX the film grossed $8.2m from Friday to Sunday in 193 North American locations. Predictably women comprised the key constituents as Eclipse drew a roughly 65% female crowd. Around 55% of audiences were over 21.

Playing in 193 IMAX theatres, the film grossed $9m for a $47,000 per-screen average. Eclipse grossed $235,000 from 11 international IMAX screens. “We think this release helps introduce The IMAX Experience to an increasingly expanding audience and we are pleased with the positive response so far,” Greg Foster, IMAX’s chairman and president of filmed entertainment, said. “Summit Entertainment has been a great partner to work with, and we’re very happy with the way IMAX has been incorporated into their impressive marketing campaign.”

Paramount’s M Night Shyamalan family fantasy The Last Airbender performed well as it debuted on $53.2m over the Friday-to-Monday period and $70.5m since launching on Thursday [July 1].

Most of the remaining top ten shifted down two places. Disney’s Toy Story 3 crossed $300m and ranked third as $42.2m raised the tally after three weekends to $301.1m. It is now the second biggest Pixar film in North America behind Finding Nemo on $339.7m and at this rate should overtake Finding Nemo.

Fox’s action comedy Knight And Day has not taken off in a significant way in North America and ranks fifth on $49.3m after two weeks. Tom Cruise remains a huge draw overseas and Fox International has high hopes for the international run.

Next weekend’s wide releases are: Universal’s animation Despicable Me featuring the voice talent of Steve Carell, Jason Segel, Kristen Wiig and Russell Brand; and Fox’s action horror Predators with Adrien Brody, Topher Grace and Laurence Fishburne.

Estimated Top 10 North America July 2-5 2010

Film (Dist) / Est wkd gross / Est total to date

1 (-) The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (Summit) Summit Int’l $82.5m $175.3m

2 (-) The Last Airbender (Paramount) PPI $53.2m $70.5m

3 (1) Toy Story 3 (Buena Vista) WDSMPI $42.2m $301.1m

4 (2) Grown Ups (Sony) SPRI $26.5m $85.1m

5 (3) Knight & Day (Fox) $14m $49.3m

6 (4) The Karate Kid (Sony) SPRI $11.5m $155m

7 (5) The A-Team (Fox) Fox Int’l $4.3m $70.4m

8 (6) Get Him To The Greek (Universal) UPI $1.7m $57.9m

9 (7) Shrek Forever After (DreamWorks Animation-Paramount) PPI $1.3m $232.6m

10 (20) Cyrus (Fox Searchlight) Fox Int’l $1m $1.7m

Estimated Top 10 North America July 2-4 2010

Film (Dist) / Est wkd gross / Est total to date

1 (-) The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (Summit) Summit Int’l $69m $161m

2 (-) The Last Airbender (Paramount) PPI $40.7m $57m

3 (1) Toy Story 3 (Buena Vista) WDSMPI $30.2m $289m

4 (2) Grown Ups (Sony) SPRI $18.5m $77.1m

5 (3) Knight & Day (Fox) $10.2m $45.5m

6 (4) The Karate Kid(Sony) SPRI $8m $151.5m

7 (5) The A-Team (Fox) Fox Int’l $3m $69.1m

8 (6) Get Him To The Greek(Universal) UPI $1.2m $57.4m

9 (7) Shrek Forever After (DreamWorks Animation-Paramount) PPI $799,000 $232.2m

10 (20 )Cyrus (Fox Searchlight) Fox Int’l $770,000 $1.5m