This weekend's box-office outcome should come as no surprise to anyone paying attention to that high-pitched squealing noise that's been pervading the atmosphere for the past few weeks. Yes, the hysteria of hordes of screaming fans did in fact translate to big ticket sales for teen vampire flick Twilight. The film–which cost $37 million to make and features no big names–landed easily at the No. 1 spot with $70.55 million, handily making back its production budget and earning it the title of the fourth-highest premiere of 2008 (after The Dark Knight, Indiana Jones, and Iron Man). Shockingly, the weekend audience was estimated at 75 percent female and 55 percent under 25.
Not faring so well was Disney's Bolt, which failed to outperform the sophomore showing of Quantum Of Solace. Opening to $27 million in ticket sales, Bolt was bested by Bond, which dipped to No. 2 with $27.4 million. The PG-rated animated family offering was not helped by the presence of another PG-rated animated family offering: It split the kiddie turnout with Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, which dropped from No. 2 to No. 4 with $16 million. Role Models had the smallest decline in the top 10, bumping down to No. 5 in its third week with $7.23 million, well ahead of the similarly durable Changeling, at No. 6 in its fifth week with $2.64 million. High School Musical 3: Senior Year suffered greatly as its core audience flocked from chaste, singing basketball stars to chaste, brooding vampires; it dropped 64.6 percent to No. 7 with $2 million, though it is still on track to break the $100 million mark. Zack And Miri Make A Porno dropped to No. 8 in its fourth week with $1.7 million, just ahead of The Boy In The Striped Pajamas, which landed at No. 9 in its first week of wide release with $1.67 million. The Secret Life Of Bees makes its probable last showing in the top 10 after a surprising six-week run in the bottom spot with $1.28 million.
For more detailed numbers, go to boxofficemojo.com.