Updated 8:30 a.m. PT Saturday
"The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1" is opening to huge numbers, pulling in an estimated $71.4 on Friday.
That puts the latest installment of Summit's vampire romance franchise on track to gross $140 million this weekend.
Box-office watchers had predicted the movie would open to about $140 million. Summit, meanwhile, had more conservative estimates of about $125 million.
Early estimates show the Warner Bros. "Happy Feet Two," meanwhile, opening to far more modest numbers. Rival-studio estimates have the animated 3D movie taking in only about $6 million on Friday. That movie looks to be heading to about $21 million for the weekend -- soft, but enough to make it No. 2 at the box office.
And Relativity's "Immortals," which was the No. 1 movie at last week's box office, took an estimated $3.8 million on Friday. It is expected to gross $12.7 this weekend.
Also Read: 'Breaking Dawn' Sinks Teeth into $30.2M Midnight Opening
Earlier:
Sensing that end is nigh for their favorite vampire romance franchise, members of Team Edward and Team Jacob will flock to the movie theaters this weekend to see “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1.”
But will tween ticket-buyers turn out in enough force to propel the Summit sequel to record numbers?
It's unlikely, but even if the sequel falls short of those lofty marks, it still stands to sink its teeth into an awful lot of green. The first installment in the two-part finale is on pace to bank $140 million this weekend in 4,061 theaters.
Also opening wide this weekend: Warner Bros.' animated sequel "Happy Feet Two"; Fox Searchlight Oscar hopeful "The Descendants," meanwhile, will expand to 27 theaters Friday from the five it opened up with Wednesday.
Also read: Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart Dish on Sex Scenes at the 'Breaking Dawn' Premiere
"Breaking Dawn's" projections fall short of the $169 million all-time record set by “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2” last summer, but should be roughly in line with the franchise's highest grossing opener, the $140 million posted by 2009's "New Moon."
The studio is feeling more conservative, projecting an opening weekend on the order of $125 million.
Summit did not release the number of theaters that plan to host midnight screenings, but studio executives told TheWrap that the movie may be a 12 a.m. record breaker.
It could easily surpass the $43.5 million benchmark set by “Deathly Hallows Part 2” in late night showings.
Also read: 'Breaking Dawn' Premiere: Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner Steal the Show
If Twi-hards are particularly eager to catch the latest entry in the vampire romance saga -- a gorier and sexier affair that includes a trip to the altar, a deflowering and a grisly demon child birth -- it may shatter the single day record of $92 million set by the bespectacled wizard.
