‘Twilight’ threequel beats out ‘The Last Airbender’ but doesn’t surpass opening numbers of its predecessor ‘New Moon.’ By Josh Wigler Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson in “Eclipse” Photo: Summit The Box-Office Top Five #1 “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse” ($82.5 million) #2 “The Last Airbender” ($53.3 million) #3 “Toy Story 3” ($42.2 million) #4 “Grown Ups” ($25.9 million) #5 “Knight and Day” ($13.8 million) Whether you’re on Team Edward or Team Jacob, “Twilight” fans of all shapes, sizes and loyalties flocked to theaters this weekend to award the supernatural franchise’s latest installment, “Eclipse,” with the first-place prize at the Fourth of July holiday weekend box office. “Eclipse” took an estimated $82.5 million from Friday through Sunday, resulting in a $175.3 million cumulative total since opening on Wednesday (June 30). Having established new Hollywood records for widest-ever opening release, best midnight debut and single greatest Wednesday premiere, “Eclipse” was unable to eclipse its own predecessor’s success — “New Moon” remains the “Twilight” franchise’s champion with an opening weekend total of $178 million. Despite this, there’s no denying that “Eclipse” is already a huge hit, having surpassed its own production budget by more than $200 million thanks to the $100.2 million earned from foreign locations. Even as “Eclipse” easily took first place, director M. Night Shyamalan’s “The Last Airbender” managed a solid second-place finish worth $53.3 million, resulting in a cumulative total of $70.5 million since opening on Thursday. Those opening numbers aren’t as impressive when measured against the film’s reported $150 million production budget, but given the massive amount of critical backlash levied at “The Last Airbender,” the movie actually performed rather well under the circumstances. “Toy Story 3” landed in third place with $42.2 million, bringing Pixar’s latest to a massive $451.9 million worldwide total after only three weeks in theaters. Fourth and fifth place went to last weekend’s newcomers “Grown Ups” and “Knight and Day” with $25.9 million and $13.8 million, respectively. Upcoming Releases Adrien Brody tries his hand as an action hero this coming weekend in producer Robert Rodriguez and director Nimrod Antal’s “Predators,” while Steve Carell and Jason Segel battle it out in superhero comedy “Despicable Me.” Check out everything we’ve got on “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse,” “The Last Airbender” and “Toy Story 3.” For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com . Related Photos ‘The Twilight Saga: Eclipse’ ‘The Last Airbender’ “Toy Story 3”
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‘Eclipse’ Lights Up July 4th Weekend Box Office
