The 2008 vampire fantasy film Twilight has taken the top spot at the Russian box office following its re-release in cinemas across the country.
The movie earned 47.4 million rubles on Saturday, bringing its cumulative weekend earnings to nearly 165 million rubles, according to box office portal kinobusiness.com. Industry experts forecast that total weekend receipts will reach 210 million rubles by Monday.
The single weekend performance surpasses the original theatrical run of the film in Russian cinemas. During its initial release 16 years ago, Twilight generated 98.4 million rubles in total across its entire domestic run.
Directed by Catherine Hardwicke, Twilight became an international pop culture phenomenon after its premiere in 2008. The film launched the Hollywood careers of lead actors Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart while inspiring countless internet memes and spawning a multi-billion-dollar media franchise based on the romantic fantasy novels by Stephenie Meyer.
Weekend box office rankings
Twilight pushed the domestic fairytale film How Ivan Got Into a Fairytale into second place on Saturday. The family picture grossed 44.7 million rubles on Saturday and was approaching 167 million rubles for the full weekend.
Third place went to the action comedy film Courier, which earned 10.8 million rubles on Saturday. The movie was projected to reach approximately 32 million rubles by the end of the weekend.
The strong opening for the re-released American picture comes as Russian cinema operators rely heavily on classic titles, family fairy tales, and local comedy releases to fill theatrical schedules.
Previous box office records
The success of Twilight follows another recent milestone in Russian box office history, when the domestic family movie Kolobok surpassed the Marvel superhero blockbuster Spider-Man in several international markets.
That commercial triumph occurred amidst a controversy over schedule changes for the superhero film. Some moviegoers and fans suggested that the creators of the Russian family film were involved in pushing for the release date shift.
Kolobok is based on a traditional Slavic folk tale character, a sentient round loaf of bread, which has been adapted into modern animated and live-action family entertainment for Russian audiences. Spider-Man remains one of the global film industry's highest-grossing comic book franchises.
