'Twilight,' 'Skyfall' Devour Newcomers on Turkey Day
Over the first two days of the long Thanksgiving weekend, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 and Skyfall continued to draw large crowds and easily placed first and second, respectively. Among newcomers, Rise of the Guardians got off to a disappointing start, while Life of Pi and Red Dawn are outperforming modest expectations.

The fifth and final Twilight movie earned nearly $21 million between Wednesday and Thursday, which is a tad higher than Breaking Dawn Part 1's tally over the same days last year. The movie's $183.8 million opening week ranks eighth all-time, though it's a bit behind New Moon's $188.1 million. For the five-day frame, Breaking Dawn Part 2 will likely wind up with around $64 million.

In second place, Skyfall earned $15.1 million on the first two days of the weekend. Through 14 days, the 23rd James Bond adventure has earned $185.7 million, and it will be at over $215 million by Sunday.

Steven Spielberg's Lincoln added $9.1 million on Wednesday and Thursday, which brings its early total to $37.2 million. It could earn as much as $30 million for the five-day weekend.

In fourth place, DreamWorks Animation's Rise of the Guardians earned just $8.6 million on Wednesday and Thursday. That's double what Arthur Christmas made at the same time last year, but is way lower than The Muppets's $12.3 million and less than half of Tangled's $19.9 million. The holiday-themed animated flick will earn more than $30 million by Sunday, and will at least hold well without any competition for the next few weeks.

Life of Pi was a bit behind Guardians for the two-day period with $8.2 million. That's twice as much as Hugo made last year, though it's also from twice as many theaters. Using Hugo's pattern, Life of Pi could be at over $30 million for the five-day weekend, which is a strong start for this movie.

Red Dawn earned $7.4 million over its first two days, which isn't a bad start at all for a movie that sat on the shelf for three years. By Sunday, the action remake will have earned over $20 million.

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Forecast: 'Guardians,' 'Pi' Target Family Audiences Over Thanksgiving

Related Chart:

Grosses for Thursday, November 22, 2012

Grosses for Wednesday, November 21, 2012