娱乐英语新闻:"Eclipse" sets record at midnight box office

BEIJING, July 1 (Xinhuanet) -- Ticket sales for "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse" have broken the record for highest-grossing midnight screenings — previously held by "New Moon”, according to media reports Thursday.

According to Summit Entertainment, "Eclipse" took in more than $30 million from midnight screenings on Wednesday (June 30), with final box-office numbers to be determined once the studio finishes its final count.

The previous record for midnight screening ticket sales of $26.3 million was set by the last "Twilight" movie, "New Moon," in November 2009.

The $30 million haul from Wednesday morning includes more than $1 million in IMAX screenings, which surpassed $959,000 of“Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.”

With a record amount of money already in hand, the question now for Summit is whether "Eclipse" will be a bigger hit than "New Moon" or if it will end up with a similar total domestic gross of about $300 million.