Box office

BOX OFFICE BITES: The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1 took in $139.5 million domestically—including $30.3 million from midnight screenings on Thursday night—while also grossing $144 million abroad. That gives the Summit Entertainment release the second-biggest opening weekend of 2011, trailing only the $169.2 million opening of Harry Potter and Deathly Hallows Part 2 in July. Breaking Dawn averaged $34,351 on 4,061 screens. The weekend's other wide release, the Warner Bros. animated feature Happy Feet Two, did a disappointing $22 million, averaging just $6,108 in 3,606 theaters. Next was Relativity’s Immortals, which took in $12,252 in its second weekend ($3,927 average from 3,120 theaters), followed by Sony’s Jack and Jill with $12 million on the nose ($3,490; 3,438) and Paramount/DreamWorks’ Puss in Boots with $10.725 million ($3,141; 3,415). Additionally, in limited release, Alexander Payne’s critically embraced The Descendants earned $1.2 million from 29 theaters, averaging a whopping $42,150 per screen. Fox Searchlight will expand the count to 420 screens in 60 markets this Wednesday. (11/21a)