'The Twilight: Breaking Dawn--Part 2' prepares for record weekend

The romantic saga of Bella, Edward, and Jacob concludes with The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn--Part 2 (4,070 theatres). Because fans know this will be the last movie, turnout should be particularly high. Many expect an opening of $150 million, higher than New Moon ($142 million opening) or Breaking Dawn--Part 1 ($138 million). Also, Summit scheduled screenings not only on
midnight Thursday, but also at 10pm, which should bring in additional early viewers. For a series like Twilight, fans want to see the movie right away, so the opening weekend will end up being around half of the total, making that time frame's results an important figure to track. Our thoughts go out to the theatre managers who will be dealing with long lines and crazed fans this weekend.

After posting a near-record per-screen average last week, Lincoln will expand to 1,775 theatres. The adult-leaning historical biopic will have some competition from Skyfall, which has also been drawing in an adult male audience. However, the James Bond film has already been out for two weeks, so at least some portion of potential moviegoers will have already seen Skyfall, making the "which-movie-do-we-see" decision at the box office a default one for Lincoln.

With Thanksgiving on Thursday, this weekend is popular for specialty releases to get a head start
on the holiday crowd. The Toronto Film Festival Audience Award winner Silver Linings Playbook will open in 16 theatres before expanding into 420 theatres next Friday. Two recent Audience Award winners, Slumdog Millionaire and The King's Speech, also went on to win the Best Picture Oscar, so hopes are high for the love story between two crazy, lost souls. Star Jennifer Lawrence's increased prominence in the wake of her starring role in The Hunger Games, as well as Bradley Cooper's roles in the Hangover comedies may give the "delightful romantic comedy with unusually dark underpinnings," as described by critic Kevin Lally, a broader appeal and awareness level. "The prospects couldn’t be
brighter for this immensely satisfying and surprising comedy," he predicts. A dance competition finale reminiscent of the one that was so crowd-pleasing in Little Miss Sunshine, as well as a football plotline, make this a comedy that should catch on beyond the arthouse crowd.

Much of the action in Anna Karenina (16 theatres) is set on a stage, "a statement on the highly artificial
world that the Russian aristocracy had entrapped itself in, circa
1874," and also "a device heightening the novel’s already potent
melodrama," muses critic Chris Barsanti. The unusual artistic choice may have some detractors, as indicated by the 64% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes, but others will be drawn in by director Joe Wright's bold choice. Keira Knightley shines in yet another costume drama, which will be angling for Oscar nominations.

On Monday, we'll see which of the 16-screen specialty releases posted the higher per-screen average, if Lincoln was able to get audiences to secede from Skyfall, and if The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 posts the highest opening for the franchise yet.