‘Towers’ stands even taller than predecessor
The middle edition of director Peter Jackson’s three-part Middle-earth saga thundered to $26 million for its opening Wednesday.
The figure includes midnight Tuesday showings in about half the 3,622 theaters where “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers” is playing on 6,633 screens, but New Line Cinema didn’t break out the early-show tally.
The third-best midweek opening bodes well for business this weekend, and it beat last year’s opening for the first installment, “The Fellowship of the Ring,” which grossed $18 million on Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2001.
The top two midweek spots belong to “Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones,” which opened on Thursday, May 16, this year with $30.1 million, and “Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace,” which on May 19, 1999, tallied $28.5 million, according to Nielsen EDI.
Advance ticket sales were brisk on such online services as Moviephone.com and Fandango.com.
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