Vampires and werewolves ruled at the box office this Fourth of July holidayweekend, with Summit Entertainment's third installment of 'The Twilight Saga' taking in $161.7 million since opening Wednesday. That's one of the biggest five-day debuts in Hollywood history, previously surpassed by just a handful of films, including 'The Dark Knight' and last summer's sequel to 'Transformers.'

After Monday, 'Eclipse' is expected to gross around $181 million for the six-day holiday total.

The teen vampire franchise has pulled in major profits for its studio, Summit. A small independent studio in Hollywood, Summit spent just $68 million making 'Eclipse,' far less than what many rival studios spend on summer blockbusters, which can cost as much as $150 million or $200 million.

'Eclipse' also helped boost the summer box office, which has trailed behind last year's record-shattering revenue after a series of movies opened tepidly or flopped at the box office. Still, even with 'Eclipse's' performance, attendance continues to be down nearly 7% compared with last summer and revenue stands slightly lower, too.

Paramount Pictures' 'The Last Airbender,' a 3-D live-action adaptation based on a popular Nickelodeon cartoon, took the second spot at the box office this weekend, grossing $53.2 million since opening Thursday. That figure stands in line with expectations after the film received poor reviews, but the movie has a long way to go before Paramount can recoup the roughly $150 million it spent on the movie, which the studio also paid to convert into 3-D earlier this year. The film is, however, estimated to take in more than $70 million after Monday, significantly upping its total.

Lauren A. E. Schuker

• holiday [´hɔlidi] n.假日，假期，节日 (初中英语单词)
• twilight [´twailait] n.黎明；黄昏 (初中英语单词)
• opening [´əupəniŋ] n.开放；开端 a.开始的 (初中英语单词)
• wednesday [´wenzdi] n.星期三 (初中英语单词)
• series [´siəri:z] n.连续；系列；丛书 (初中英语单词)
• performance [pə´fɔ:məns] n.履行；行为；工作 (初中英语单词)
• slightly [´slaitli] ad.轻微地；细长的 (初中英语单词)
• convert [kən´və:t, ´kɔnvə:t] v.转变 n.改变信仰者 (初中英语单词)
• summit [´sʌmit] n.顶(点)；绝顶 (高中英语单词)
• installment [in´stɔ:lmənt] n.分期付款 (高中英语单词)
• hollywood [´hɔliwud] n.好莱坞 (高中英语单词)
• previously [´pri:viəsli] ad.预先；以前 (高中英语单词)
• handful [hændful] n.一把，少数，一小撮 (高中英语单词)
• studio [´stju:diəu] n.画室；照相室 (高中英语单词)
• revenue [´revinju:] n.税收；收入 (高中英语单词)
• roughly [´rʌfli] ad.粗糙地；毛糙地 (高中英语单词)
• weekend [´wi:kend, ,wi:k´end] n.周末休假 (英语四级单词)
• adaptation [ædæp´teiʃən] n.适应；改写(本) (英语四级单词)
• taking [´teikiŋ] a.迷人的 n.捕获物 (英语六级单词)
• franchise [´fræntʃaiz] n.选举权；特许权 (英语六级单词)
• cartoon [kɑ:´tu:n] n.漫画；(电影)卡通片 (英语六级单词)
• paramount [´pærəmaunt] a.最高的 n.元首 (英语六级单词)