Twilight Saga: Eclipse set to storm UK box office

The third instalment of Twilight is set to shake up the UK box office this weekend, with the film's launch today. Although not included in last weekend's official box office, sneak previews of The Twilight Saga: Eclipse last Saturday and Sunday are believed to have taken £6.3m - putting it just behind weekend takings for the number one film Shrek Forever After (£9.5m) and well ahead of the official number two, Russell Brand's Get Him to the Greek (£1m).

UK cinemas will be hoping the Twilight sequel can repeat its opening weekend performance in North America where the movie came top of the US and Canadian box offices. Although takings fell short of predictions made by its distributor, Eclipse earned around $162 million in its first five days. Summit Entertainment had forecast takings of $173m for that period, which included a holiday weekend in the US for Independence Day on July 4.

Nonetheless American movie pundits are still predicting that Hollywood's recent flagging box office ratings - described by one analyst as the "bummer summer" - should get a massive boost by the vampire romance's release.

Prior to last weekend, ticket sales had been down eight per cent for the summer season - from $2.04 billion in 2009 to $1.88 billion -  thanks to dismal performances by films like Killers, starring Katherine Heigl and Ashton Kutcher, and Knight and Day, Tom Cruise's new action comedy which was recently skewered by the critics.

If Eclipse continues to perform well it may give a boost to other summer films, says Paul Dergarabedian, from Hollywood.com. "It's been kind of a bummer summer, but thank goodness for films like The Karate Kid, Toy Story 3 and now Eclipse because it just takes a couple of films to turn things around."

Crucially the film starring Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart has been greeted enthusiastically by reviewers as well as die-hard Twilight fans. While American and Canadian cinemas have been packed, critics on both sides of the Atlantic say the film is the best Twilight movie yet.

The New York Times's AO Scott called Eclipse "a more robustly entertaining film than either of its predecessors" and the Hollywood Reporter's Kirk Honeycutt felt that the series has finally hit its stride with an entertaining mix of romance and action fantasy". The UK film magazine Empire, meanwhile, declared the franchise "was in danger of becoming cool".
WHAT THE CRITICS ARE SAYING:
Peter Debruge, Variety: "It goes without saying that the faithful will devour The Twilight Saga: Eclipse... The pleasant surprise this time around is that the result finally feels more like the blockbuster this top-earning franchise deserves."

Andrew Pulver, the Guardian: "But in a universe where almost all CGI-laden, blood-spilling tentpole movies are aimed at ensnaring the teenage male, there's something to be said for a series of films aimed squarely – and successfully – at teenage girls." (3/5 stars)

Will Lawrence, Empire: "The fan base will enjoy the maturation of characters and plot, while Slade brings great energy to the climactic battle between the Newborns and the Cullen-Wolf Pack alliance. Under his guidance, the series has evolved into something most unlikely: Twilight is in danger of becoming cool." (4/5 stars)

Betsy Sharkey, the Los Angeles Times: "The kiss of the vampire is cooler, the werewolf is hotter, the battles are bigger and the choices are, as everyone with a pulse knows by now, life-changing." (3.5 stars)

Tom Huddleston, Time Out: "Slade directs with  flair... But he can’t disguise the massive flaws inherent in the screenplay: the slipshod plotting, whiny, self-serious tone and excruciating abstinence-first subplot." (2/5 stars) ·