Arts & Entertainment

Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

Another bloody weekend as Twilight sequel continues to pack 'em in

By: Staff Writer

Posted: 11/30/2009 1:00 AM | Comments: 0 (including replies)

Handout Taylor Lautner stars in New Moon.

LOS ANGELES -- Vampires and werewolves continued to howl at the box office with a US$42.5-million weekend for The Twilight Saga: New Moon.

Summit Entertainment's Twilight sequel remained No. 1 over what proved a record Thanksgiving weekend for Hollywood. But New Moon was nearly blindsided for the top spot by a real-life football drama.

The Blind Side had a great second weekend with US$40.1 million coming in at No. 2 just behind New Moon. Released by Warner Bros., the inspirational story of Baltimore Ravens tackle Michael Oher stars Sandra Bullock as a woman whose wealthy family takes in the homeless teen and enrols him in private school.

The two movies propelled Hollywood to record revenues over the five-day Thanksgiving period. Wednesday-to-Sunday receipts came in at an estimated US$275 million, according to Hollywood.com box-office analyst Paul Dergarabedian.

That surpassed the previous Thanksgiving record of US$244.4 million set in 2000, when Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas and Unbreakable topped the box office.

With 2009 domestic revenues at US$9.5 billion, Hollywood is on the verge of breaking the record of US$9.7 billion set in 2007. Studios have a month of prime holiday business ahead, so the industry should easily top the US$10-billion mark domestically for the first time.

"We're going to buzz past it," Dergarabedian said.

New wide releases had so-so results on the weekend. Disney's family comedy Old Dogs, starring Robin Williams and John Travolta as single guys forced to mind seven-year-old twins one of them never knew he had fathered, came in at No. 4 with US$16.8 million for the three-day weekend and US$24.1 million since opening Wednesday.

The Warner Bros. action tale Ninja Assassin opened at No. 6 with US$13.1 million over the weekend and US$21 million since Wednesday. The movie features Korean pop star Rain and Naomie Harris in a thriller about a hit man on the run from his assassination clan.

Fantastic Mr. Fox, the 20th Century Fox animated comedy with a voice cast led by George Clooney, expanded to U.S.-wide release and finished at No. 9.

New Moon raised its domestic total to US$230.7 million after just 10 days. That's nearly US$40 million more than the first movie, last year's Twilight, took in during its entire 20-week run. The movie's worldwide gross stands at $473.7 million.

-- The Associated Press

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition November 30, 2009 D2

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