Friday’s box office returns are in, and we can report that Twilight earned a huge $35.7 million on its opening day. That’s the 14th best first-day gross of all time. With Quantum of Solace and Bolt far behind, the film adaptation of Stephenie Meyer’s vampire-romance novel is guaranteed a big weekend win, in excess of $70 mil. Here’s Friday’s top five, and don’t forget to check back for the full weekend wrapup in tomorrow’s Box Office Report.
1. Twilight — $35.7 mil
2. Quantum of Solace — $8.8 mil
3. Bolt — $7.1 mil
4. Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa — $3.7 mil
5. Role Models — $2.4 mil
More ‘Twilight’ and Box Office News:
EW.com’s Twilight Central
Box Office Preview: Twilight to suck up buckets of blood…and big bucks
Twilight: Meet Robert Pattinson
Kristen Stewart talks Twilight
Twilight: The EW review








Comments (1-30) of 130 Add your comment
Yes! This means they will make the movie for Full Moon and we will get to see more of Jacob!!
EW-ENOUGH ABOUT TWILIGHT!! It’s been on your site constantly since July. Every issue I get, every update I see. TWILIGHT! Yes it’s doing great at the BO but does it really deserve this much attention?? Perhaps EW is getting a cut of the profits??
They’ve apparently already greenlit New Moon so here’s to more movies to look forward to! So excited!
70 mil is one thing, but can it make another 80mil needed for New Moon. Not sure, reviews have been mixed to say the least. Will have to wait and see if this movie has legs or not.
And I didn’t just mean by credits, also very mixed reviews by fans. Not sure if the word of mouth will be good enough to get it to 150mil.
i saw twilight, and it was okay. not great enough for all the publicity its getting, but it was alright. i’ve seen wayyy better movies, though. the acting was weak and so was the plot.
I don’t really undertand why everyone is getting pissed off at the twilight coverage because Harry Potter got a lot more coverage when it came out and people didn’t complain at all. The only reason people are complaining is because it’s a love story. And anyways, Harry potter is gay.
Tony thank you, I’m with you on this one. I’m sick to my stomach of how much publicity freaking EW has been giving to this d*mn thing! enough already!! I hate getting the magazine every friday now because everywhere you look is twilight, twilight, twilight. It’s like they think the bulk of their readership is between 12 and 20 years old.
What people who criticize this movie fail to realize is that when fans of the books go to watch this movie, they have a much better understanding of the motivations of the characters than someone who has not read the books – READ THE BOOKS!! That – and being able to look at Rob Pattinson and the other beautiful people in this movie – will be what has them coming back for another viewing and upping the box office.
I will be glad when this weekend is over and EW can focus on the Oscar contenders.
good thing i just got an email from summit saying that NEW MOON will start shooting soon!! YAY
and twilight was sooo good. not like identical to the book. so don’t go in comparing it cause you won’t like it if you do!
First off let me just say that I liked the film for the most part and I have read all the books. It came off more as a highlight reel of the book versus a story, but let’s keep in mind that Summit only gave them 35 million to make this film. They never expected it to be as big as it was or they would have given them more money to make the film. If they would have given them more money we might have seen a much better movie. They worked with what they had. I just hope that New Moon is much better and longer because they have more money to work with.
Glad that the opening is so strong, and that New Moon will be made! I was pretty sure it would be, but to hear it is great.
I’m way older than the average fan, and went to the movie with 7 others (youngest 23, oldest 44) and mixed reviews by our crew – but more positive than not. I am glad it’s decent as i’m going again Monday with work friends who don’t like going on opening nights etc.,
Good for them too bad the movie is a bore!
I rad all the book and saw the movie last night. Here is what I thought.
http://www.hd-trailers.org/2008/11/twilight-a-review-from-a-book-lover/
YAYAYAY for Steph!
We saw the movie at the midnight showing. While it certainly is NOT film greatness,they did the best they could with such a small budget and with only two hours. My main criticism is that it felt very rushed and alot was skipped over to keep the movie at 2 hours. If you hadn’t read the books, you don’t understand from the movie why Bella and Edward fell in love. You have no clue why Jasper is acting so comical. You don’t even learn what most of the Cullens gifts are. Some of the FX should have been left out completely if they didn’t have a large enough budget to do a good job on them (such as Edward speeding around the car to open the door for Bella. idiculous.) Makeup on Edward, Jasper, and Carlisle WAY overdone. BUT, I thought R.P did an excellent job at portraying everything from little boy vulnerability to terrifying feral rage. A bit disappointed in K.S. performance, mostly the scene at the hospital. Hoping some of these things will be improved in New Moon! Still enjoyed the movie
Honestly, they have never given Harry Potter this much coverage. And I know for a fact that EW is owned by the parent company of the studio that produces those movies. It’s disgusting. There is no need for this stupid story to be brought to the world. It was awful, I refuse to see the movie because it looks awful and even fans don’t seem thrilled with it. I just want this whole fad to end.
Fabulous. It was 2hr way to relive the book and I loved every minute of it. So much so I’m going again tonight, bascially to just stare at Rob pattinson – so gorgeous. I only have $10 in my bank account and am spending it on a twilight ticket while i will starve the rest of the week – what is a poor student to do?
My condolences to all men dragged into seeing this movie. You are stronger than I.
I really enjoyed this movie. I too have read the books (am about to do it again). The movie did lack a few parts that could have been stellar, but we have to keep in mind cohesion. In order to pack 500 pages into 2 hours… you have to sacrifice. Some parts I feel should not have been dropped or should have been elaborated on, yet you talk to the nxt guy/girl who saw the flick and they have different feelings on what should or should not have been cut. So I can only imagine how tough that is for the writer.
The books give us more detail and go indepth and that is what makes us fall in love with them. This goes for I’d say almost 90% of any book to movie adaption. The movie was great and allowed us to stick a little bit more face to the character. Although Rosalie I pictured SUPER HOT playboy model-ish and Jasper as being more military structured… but still I do love the actors they have and want to see them again in New Moon.
Producers: DO NOT CHANGE THE ACTORS!!
Horrible movie. I walked out.
good to hear that it earned as much.
can’t wait for opening night here which is on nov. 26
*SPOILER ALLERT* The movie was disapointing. The story flew by too fast. They barely meet, kiss once, and then james arrives. They don’t show Bella & Edward’s relationship build. You’d thik they just met, never mind be in love! You don’t even see Bella make the difficult decision to go save her mom. She just decides in a second and walks out the hotel door. Like Jasper/Alice wouldn’t noticed! She doesn’t write Edward a letter, nor do they ever say ”I love you”. The first time they meet in the biology room, it was horrible! Edward looked like he was smirking since the scene was so short an d because there was this weird music playing. Overall, the book is twenty times better.
Though, because I’m a die-hard Twilight fan, I would still go see it again because anything with Twilight is sacred. Come to think of it, no movie is even a fifth as good as the book. Yet everyone loves wants to see it anyways. Please, keep Taylor as Jacob’s actor.And I stil want New Moon to come out, too.
I loved the book, so seeing the movie was a very nerve-rattling thing. I expected it to be a carbon-copy of the book – and of course, it wasn’t. The soul of Edward and Bella’s love, while not as declared or straight-to-the-point as in the book, is very much alive in the film, and that really was all I could ask for (although, I TRULY hated that they didn’t include the scene where she wakes up after he first spends the night with her!) Well worth the money I’ve spent so far. I fully intend to see it repeatedly in theaters for as long as it is playing, and I cannot wait for New Moon (although I also HATE that dog Jacob). Go Twilight!
DAMMMMMMM 36 million on Friday. Im going to admitt that i was wrong. with 36 million, it will come close to an opening weekend somewhere between 75-82 (!!!) million. To think that a month ago, i was saying the movie would be lucky to break the 40 million mark. And emily, who posted a comment replying to mine: if it makes 80 million this weekend, i dont think its exagerating saying it will end its run with 200+ million. With all teh holidays coming up, even if it does crash next weekend, it will still end up with 200+.
And for all teh Twilight/potter comparrisons: Harry Potter will always be bigger, better reviews(by far), more loved, more emotion, etc. By putting Twilight in harry’s original spot, the studio wasn’t trying to replace it— although these two movies are similar, they are not the same. So don’t bash Twilight, potter fans; and dont bash harry, twilight fans. Peaceee
I am frustrated by those who have not seen the movie but feel the need to post negative things. Also for those who seem to think that the fans are all between 12 and 20 years old. I have been to see the move twice and I am over 40. Both times I have gone the theatre was full of people (not just women) over 30. There were a few teenagers at the time I went but the fan base has grown to include a huge number of adults as well. It is a fantasy that each of us can interpret in our own way. I loved what I saw. Yes, if I were to make the movie I would do things different, but every reader would. But I gave the movie a grade of B the first time and then today went back again and now I have to say I give it an A. I was caught up in the story and did not even see the things that bothered me the first time through! Going again with a group of ladies on Tuesday. With all the bad things in the world it is nice to get lost in a fantasy once in awhile. Looking forward to New Moon!
i loved the movie and i loved the books but i do agree that the movie was not newhere delteld enough they didnt have as much as i hoped i will go see it agian and look forward to new moon coming out
ok, I like the movie, but I have to say the book is way better. Btw people have different opinion but do you have to be so CRUEL!
For everyone who is complaining about the beginning going to fast and everything being different, it is IMPOSSIBLE to follow a story line from a 500 page book exactly. I LIKED that it was different than the book. I have read the book three times and I saw the movie twice in 24 hours. Catherine and Melissa did a great job portraying all the characters and making the changes they did. I am looking forward to seeing all four books as movies. I absolutely loved it.