The Twilight Saga: Eclipse has failed to eclipse New Moon's box office record

The Twilight Saga: It was one of the biggest opening weekend of all time and received much critical acclaim, but the Twilight saga: Eclipse has overshadowed the New Moon record ticket sales.

The third chapter in Summit Entertainment’s vampire romance fell off sharply after debuting last Wednesday with $68.5 million. That was the second-best opening-day haul ever, behind its predecessor, last year’s "The Twilight Saga: New Moon," which opened with $72.7 million.

Summit estimates "Eclipse" will climb to around $181 million domestically by Monday. The movie also has added $100.2 million in 42 overseas markets.

Revenues this season are running at $2.16 billion, down a fraction from summer 2009. Factoring in higher ticket prices, though, movie attendance this summer is down 6.7 percent, according to Hollywood.com.

Filed Under: The Twilight Saga