娱乐英语新闻:"Breaking Dawn - Part 2" leads North America box office for 3 straight weeks

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- The vampire-and-werewolf tale has proven to be a constant draw to teenager girls and young women in North America, who continued to swarm theaters this weekend for a close look at "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2."

According to Sunday estimates, the movie is set to lead the box office derby for three consecutive weeks.

The fifth and final installment of the blockbuster fantasy and romance franchise is estimated to take in 17.4 million U.S. dollars in ticket sales over the Friday-Sunday period. The finale, which stars Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson as a married couple with kids, has grossed 254.59 million dollars in North America so far, becoming the fifth film to do so since January 2012.

"Skyfall," the 23rd installment of the James Bond series, trailed in second place with a close 17-million-dollar weekend. The spy film, in which Daniel Craig returns as James Bond 007, is on track to gross 246.03 million dollars over four weeks of exhibition.

The fight for third place in the North America box office turned out to be a tight race, as "Lincoln" and "Rise of the Guardians" were projected to roll up 13.5 million dollars each. However, it was "Lincoln," a Steven Spielberg directorial effort which aimed at the Academy Awards, that gained an upper hand with a 9,000-dollar edge.

"Lincoln," starring two-time Oscar best actor winner Daniel Day- Lewis and based on strong word-of-mouth recommendations, has grossed 83.70 million dollars in ticket receipts during four weeks of exhibition. "The Rise of the Guardians," an animated feature from "How To Train Your Dragon" producer DreamWorks, has raked in 48.95 million dollars over a fortnight.

"Life of Pi," a 3-D fantasy adventure film directed by Ang Lee, finished in fifth place with an estimated 12 million dollars. It has bagged 48.36 million dollars during two weeks of screening.

Rounding out the top 10 most popular films in North America this weekend were "Wreck-It Ralph," (7.02 million dollars), " Killing Them Softly" (premiering at 7 million dollars), "Red Dawn" (6.6 million dollars), "Flight" (4.5 million dollars), and "The Collection" (premiering at 3.4 million dollars).