We all knew it would be big. Thousands of screaming teenage girls couldn’t be wrong, right? After a reported $7 million in sales of early midnight screenings, Summit Entertainment’s vampire romance Twilight looks to be headed for the big opening weekend the studio was hoping for, as pundits project a $30 million opening day take.
According to Variety, Twilight‘s huge first day performance could mean weekend sales well into the $60 million range — or beyond. Online ticket seller Fandango sold out of 1,000 midnight shows Thursday and reports that the PG-13 romance has become their #3 Advance Ticket Seller, ahead of all Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, and Pirates movies and trailing only The Dark Knight and Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.
What’s more, by early Friday morning Twilight had been selling tickets at a rate of five per second, according to Fandango.
Directed by Catherine Hardwicke (Thirteen) and adapted from Stephenie Meyer’s novel of the same name, Twilight‘s success could mean that the next of two optioned sequels based on the subsequent chapters in Meyer’s four-book saga are a lock. Twilight is currently holding steady at 43 percent on the Tomatometer. Read Twilight reviews and news here.
Curious for more on Twilight? Learn who’s a vampire and who’s human in RT’s Twilight Character Guide, and find out what Twilight star Robert Pattinson names his favorite films of all time in our Five Favorite Films with Robert Pattinson.
