Eclipse- What will be the Total Box Office take?

If you are sitting around after about 6 hours of sleep like me, you might be wondering exactly how Eclipse did at the box office. Are we going to break records again this year? We've already broken one record by having the most screens showing the movie at one time in the United States (over 4000 btw). So how are we going to do in box office numbers?

I know I"m not the only Twihard that is nervous about going up against Potter in November. If we we don't pull in the numbers first, we don't get to go back and make it up once November comes and Potter rakes in cash. We have to be first now. We have to make numbers so big that it's impossible to beat them if we want to beat Potter income this year

We already have an early breakdown as we charge into the noon hour and start getting our official counts. Larry411, ever the Twilight Lovers' best friend, gives us this synopsis to put it into perspective

The Twilight Saga was the biggest opening of all time at 4416 venues. So it’s no surprise that early reports say theaters were mobbed not just in America but overseas as well.

There are a few things to watch for (click the links for daily numbers and extensive analysis). The Twilight Saga: New Moon opened on November 20, 2009 with $26.27 million from 3514 midnight screenings at 4024 locations.

The film took in $72.7M its first day, on its way to a $142.8M weekend, making it the #3 all-time and #1 non-summer opening weekend of all time. After the second weekend, its domestic total was $230.95M and worldwide was $473.95M. The film passed the $1/2 billion mark worldwide in its third weekend. After four weekends, New Moon sat at $267.32M domestic. And the film ended its fifth weekend with a total $274.6M domestic and $634.7M worldwide on its way to a current theatrical total of $296.6M domestic and $709.7M worldwide.”

You can keep tracking here as we'll post the updates. Other places to check often for official numbers is BoxOfficeMojo.com . No doubt I"ll have a widget soon in my sidebar to show box office take for Eclipse. BoxOfficeMojo has a slightly Debbie Downer take on the whole thing

Should Eclipse exceed New Moon in the long run if not its opening, then it would buck the trend of closely-timed serialized sequels, joining the ranks of the exceptionally-performing Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings franchises. When a second movie explodes with anticipation after the first movie's success, a certain amount of disappointment is inevitable and it becomes incredibly difficult for the third movie to maintain the momentum, especially when it hasn't had the time to stock more pent-up demand. That's how The Matrix and Pirates of the Caribbean series played out.

Summit Entertainment hasn't rested on its laurels, which is evident from the number of theaters they secured as well as a marketing campaign that has upped the action ante, suggesting that what was set up in the first two movies is finally coming to a head. Summit said that they are expecting Eclipse to gross $150 million in its first six days, including $60 million for the Friday-to-Sunday period. Females both young and old are predictably the driving force, and Summit reported that male interest is about the same as it was for New Moon.

With Box Office Mojo readers, Eclipse has not fared as well as New Moon: 26 percent of respondents voted to see Eclipse in its opening versus 32 percent for New Moon at the same point (though results may be skewed due to Eclipse's Wednesday start). Anticipation may have been lowered by the reception to New Moon: Box Office Mojo readers graded New Moon a "C+," compared to the first Twilight's "B," while the IMDb User Rating for New Moon was 4.6 (out of 10), compared to 5.7 for Twilight.