‘Towers’ stands even taller than predecessor
- Share via
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.
Only good movies
Get the Indie Focus newsletter, Mark Olsen's weekly guide to the world of cinema.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
