(Reuters) – “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1” broke the $500 million mark at worldwide box offices on Monday after its release only 12 days ago, film distributor Summit Entertainment said yesterday.
“Breaking Dawn”, the fourth installment in the vampire romance franchise based on the “Twilight” novels by Stephanie Meyer, generated has generated $508 million worldwide, of which $223 million came from U.S. box offices, after record ticket sales over the U.S. Thanksgiving weekend.
“We couldn’t be more pleased with the success of this film and a franchise that the fans have continued to support over the past several years,” Rob Friedman and Patrick Wachsberger, co-chairmen of Summit Entertainment, said in a statement.
The success of “Breaking Dawn – Part 1” comes after the first three films in the “Twilight Saga” series collectively earned more than $1.8 billion at the worldwide box offices.
Starring Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner, the fourth film sees young lovers Bella Swan and vampire Edward Cullen finally unite in marriage and embark on their highly anticipated honeymoon, before their wedded bliss is cut short by an unexpected life-threatening pregnancy.
The second part of the film, which will be the conclusion of the “Twilight Saga,” is due for release in 2012.
