Young women flocked to see “Eclipse,” the third chapter in the Twilight film series. Summit’s vampire saga “Eclipse” took in an estimated four-day total of $82.5 million at 4,468 locations, bringing its cumulative box-office to $175.3 million.
The weekend’s other fresh offering, Paramount’s 3D tentpole “The Last Airbender” benefited from a successful counterprogramming, playing best with males, for an estimated $53.2 million over the long weekend. Pic’s overall domestic total stands at $70.5 million.
Both wide releases brought in goof returns during the four-day frame, especially given the pair’s frontloaded midweek launches. “Eclipse” bowed Wednesday, while “Airbender followed a day later.
The Fourth of July typically represents a considerable slowdown at the box office, and with the holiday falling on a Sunday this year, the early bows allowed for a running start into the weekend.
Overall, the domestic B.O. was up a sizeable 18% compared to last year’s holiday weekend.
“Eclipse” performed tops during a non-holiday frame overseas, with three-day estimates reaching $100.2 million in 42 territories, including key markets like Spain, Italy and Australia. In the U.K., the “Twilight” three-quel earned a record-setting $5.7 million from Saturday previews. The picture will launch wide there next week.
