Columbus fans of Stephenie Meyer's vampire series who didn't get a ticket to see the midnight Tuesday showing of "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse" were invited to watch the 2 1/2-hour film at 3 a.m. Wednesday at Carmike 15. By Tuesday evening the midnight screening at the theater, which seats 3,400, had sold out.
The Associated Press reported that the third "Twilight" movie opened with the widest domestic release in box-office history. It was booked in a record 4,416 theaters for its debut. That beats the 4,380 theaters that "Iron Man 2" was booked in two months ago.
Wednesday daytime screenings begin at noon and continue almost every half hour through the evening. Tickets for all shows are on sale at the box office.
Over 1,000 tickets were sold for the marathon viewing that started at 7 p.m. Tuesday and continued through the 12:01 a.m. Wednesday premiere.
Some fans with 12:01 a.m. Wednesday tickets started to line up inside the theater at 10 p.m. Tuesday, but the small crowd was easily contained in the theater's lobby.
At 10:40 p.m. Tuesday, moviegoer Joy Beth Williams arrived at the Carmike 15 parking lot. She reported that the parking lot was full, but once inside she and her friends were immediately assigned to a theater and found seats.
Carmike Cinema's Columbus city manager Daniel Keigans told The Ledger-Enquirer last week that “crowd control is our main concern." Reports from moviegoers indicated that the cinema's crowd-control plan worked and that fans were excitedly waiting for the film to begin.
Box-office numbers aren't yet available for "Eclipse," but the second film in the series, last November's "The Twilight Saga: New Moon," currently leads box-office charts for best opening day with $72.7 million. The movie's opening weekend of $142.8 million is No. 3 on the all-time chart.
The fourth installment "Breaking Dawn" will be split into two parts with the first movie set to open Nov. 18, 2011.
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