The highly anticipated cult vampire romance Twilight didn’t disappoint at the theaters this weekend bringing in an impressive 70.6 million in its opening weekend.
Catherine Hardwicke’s film also broke a record for the biggest opening ever for a female director, blowing away the previous standard of $41.1 million set by Mimi Leder ’s Deep Impact in 1998.
Drawing from its huge fan base of teenage girls, who fell for Stephenie Meyer’s novel of forbidden love between brooding vampire Edward Cullen and bookish high schooler Bella Swan , Twilight made a whopping $20,636 per theater, according to Sunday morning estimates.
And if that’s not enough Summit Entertainment, which released Twilight, announced during the weekend that it’s going ahead with production of New Moon, based on the second book in Meyer’s internationally best-selling series.
Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart will return as its star-crossed lovers, but whether Hardwicke will be at the helm again is still being determined.
Hardwicke, who went bodyboarding at sunset Saturday to take her mind off this high-pressure weekend, said Sunday morning that she was heading to a meeting later in the day to discuss her possible involvement in New Moon.
“I want to be sure that it’s going to be done right. I don’t want to rush into it. It’s not like ` Friday the 13th ‘ or ` Halloween ,’ you can’t just do it super fast and knock another one out. I want to understand their plans and all that.”
Hardwicke, whose previous films include Thirteen and Lords of Dogtown, also said she was thrilled about the prospect that the success of “Twilight” will inspire other women and young girls to pursue a career in filmmaking.
“I hope not just women but all minorities get enthused and encouraged by it. I look at the ( Directors Guild of America ) calendar, at the pictures of everyone that had different movies each month, and it’s usually 22-29 different directors, and almost every month there’s one female and maybe one minority,” she said. “We’ve been having a lot of events, talking to a lot of fans, and so many kids of course are madly in love with Robert but tons of kids of every kind (and) girls are coming up to me and saying `I want to direct now, I’m writing a screenplay now, you’re my inspiration.’ I think it’s great that people are getting excited.”
Here’s the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Media By Numbers LLC. Final figures will be released Monday.
1. “Twilight,” $70.5 million.
2. “Quantum of Solace,” $27.4 million.
3. “Bolt,” $27 million.
4. ” Madagascar 2: Escape 2 Africa,” $16 million.
5. “Role Models.” $7.2 million.
6. ” Changeling ,” $2.6 million.
7. ” High School Musical 3: Senior Year ,” $2 million.
8. ” Zack and Miri Make a Porno ,” $1.7 million.
9. “The Boy in the Striped Pajamas,” $1.67 million.
10. “The Secret Life of Bees,” $1.28 million.
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