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News Story
Updated: 12/02/2012 09:14:41PM

‘Twilight,’ ‘Skyfall’ remain top picks

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This film image released by Columbia Pictures shows Daniel Craig as James Bond in the action adventure film, "Skyfall." (AP Photo/Sony Pictures, Francois Duhamel)

By DAVID GERMAIN

AP Movie Writer

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LOS ANGELES (AP) — The “Twilight” finale and “Skyfall” continued to dominate the box office on a typically slow post-Thanksgiving weekend that brought big business for holdover films but a poor start for Brad Pitt’s new crime story.

Sunday studio estimates put “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 2” out front for the third-straight weekend with $17.4 million domestically.

That raised the domestic total to $254.6 million for the vampire tale released by Lionsgate banner Summit Entertainment. The movie added
$48.4 million overseas for an international haul of $447.8 million and a worldwide sum of
$702.4 million, approaching the franchise record of $710 million for last year’s “Breaking Dawn — Part 2.”

Sony’s James Bond adventure “Skyfall” was a fraction behind with $17 million domestically, raising revenue to $246 million after four weekends.

Adding in about
$600 million overseas, “Skyfall” already is the top-grossing Bond flick ever, approaching
$900 million worldwide.

Pitt’s “Killing Them Softly,” the weekend’s top new release, tanked with just $7 million domestically, coming in at No. 7
behind a big batch of holdovers.

The “Twilight” finale and “Skyfall” were close enough that domestic rankings could flip-flop when final numbers are released Monday. Either way, the two movies have led a brisk start to the holiday season that could lift Hollywood to record domestic revenues for the year.

“I keep upping my revenue estimates for
the full end-of-year box office because it’s just been a lot stronger than
anticipated lately,” said Paul Dergarabedian, analyst for box-office tracker Hollywood.com.

With domestic business totaling $9.9 billion so far in 2012, receipts are running 6 percent ahead of last year’s and are on track to top the record of $10.6 billion set in 2009, according to Hollywood.com.

After record revenue over Thanksgiving, business eased off, though it still was a stronger-than-usual post-holiday weekend. Domestic revenues totaled $115 million, up 42 percent from the same weekend last year, when “Breaking Dawn — Part 1”
led with $16.5 million.

A Weinstein Co. release, “Killing Them Softly” averaged just $2,888 in 2,424 theaters, meager results compared to the “Twilight” finale’s average of $4,344 in 4,008 cinemas over its third weekend.

Adapted from George V. Higgins’ novel “Cogan’s Trade,” “Killing Them Softly” stars Pitt as a gang enforcer on the trail of two small-time crooks who held up a mob-protected card game.

The weekend’s other new wide release, LD Entertainment’s horror tale “The Collection,” also flopped at No. 10 with
$3.4 million, averaging $2,430 in 1,403 theaters.


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