DAWN FAR FROM DEAD IN SECOND WEEK

There was still plenty of life in the undead over the Thanksgiving holiday, illustrated by the estimated $62.3 million that The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 1 brought in over the five-day period. The romvamp tale collected about $42 million over the three-day weekend (Friday through Sunday). Box office mavens regarded that result as very good but not great, pointing out that the movie fell a huge 70 percent from its opening weekend. Meanwhile the Muppets staged a terrific comeback, placing second as they earned $29.5 million over the weekend, plus an additional $11.5 million on Thursday for their eponymous movie. The second week of Happy Feet Two beat out two other new family films. The animated/3D sequel earned $13.4 million over the three-day period and $18.4 million over the five-. Still, the result was disappointing, considering the far stronger performance of the original. Arthur Christmas placed fourth for the weekend with about $12.7 for the weekend and $17 million for the holiday. It edged out Martin Scorsese’s Hugo, which nabbed around $11.4/15.4 million (but in only 1,277 theaters). Overall, the domestic box office raked in $234 million over the holiday, nowhere near the Thanksgiving Day record of $273 million set two years ago when the second week of The Twilight Saga: New Moon led with $66 million, followed by The Blind Side with $57.5 million.

The top ten films for the weekend, according to studio estimates compiled by Box Office Mojo:
1. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 1, $42 million; 2. The Muppets, $29.5 million; 3. Happy Feet Two, $13.4 million; 4. Arthur Christmas, $12.7 million; 5. Hugo, $11.4 million; 6. Jack and Jill, $10.3 million; 7. Immortals, $8.8 million; 8. Puss in Boots, $7.5 million; 9. Tower Heist, $7.3 million; 10. The Descendants, $7.2 million.