The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, the third film in the hugely successful Twilight Saga film franchise, managed to break the box office record for midnight showings when it opened in a record number of standard AND IMAX movie theaters at 12:00 AM Wednesday June 30 bringing in about $30 million from just the midnight showings alone … it reportedly ended up making over $60 million by the end of the day! The previous record for midnight showings was $26.3 million when The Twilight Saga: New Moon (the second film in the Twilight Saga film franchise) opened last November. If this frantic rate continues, it is being estimated that Eclipse could make up to $200 million at the box office by this coming Monday!

Hard-core “Twilight” fans have set another box office record. “Eclipse,” the third movie based on the best-selling vampire romance novels, sold more than $30 million worth of tickets in the U.S. and Canada Tuesday night in shows that started at or soon after midnight. Distributor Summit Entertainment is still calculating the exact total, a spokesman said. The previous record for midnight screening ticket sales of $26.3 million was set by the last “Twilight” movie, “New Moon,” in November 2009. Grosses from midnight screenings are usually a sign of early fan enthusiasm for a movie, a category in which “Twilight” undeniably excels, as evidenced by the near-hysterical interest in stars Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner and Kristen Stewart at events like last week’s premiere. “Eclipse” has the advantage of being the first “Twilight” movie to open in the summer and also the first to play on Imax screens — 193 total — which carry higher ticket prices. However, “Eclipse” also easily broke the previous record for midnight ticket sales in the summer: $22.2 million for “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” last summer. More than $1 million of “Eclipse” ticket sales Tuesday night came from Imax screens. With a record amount of money already in hand, the question now for distributor Summit Entertainment is whether “Eclipse” will be a bigger hit than “New Moon” or if it will end up with a similar total domestic gross of about $300 million. Since most people are off of work Monday for the July 4 holiday, “Eclipse” is expected to gross a huge amount of money in its first six days, likely about $180 million and possibly as much as $200 million.

You know, I’m a bit of a skeptic sometimes so I don’t really think that Eclipse will get to the $200 million mark by Monday … but that being said, I’ve also learned not to underestimate the buying power of frantic Twihards. While I don’t expect that goal to be reached in just 6 days, I wouldn’t really be surprised if it did. I got to see Eclipse for myself last night so my review is coming. I will say that I felt Eclipse was the best movie so far in the franchise so … yeah. $30 million in one night, possibly $200 million in under a week … what do y’all think, is the movie worth generating this much money? Did YOU see Eclipse yet?

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In early June, we learned the surprising news that Gossip Girl actor Chace Crawford was arrested in Texas on charges of misdemeanor marijuana possession after a rolled joint cigarette was allegedly found in his car. Just about a week later, Chace was officially charged with the crime but Texas law insists that the accused stand in front of the judge in order to be formally charged. When last we saw Chace out and about, he was in London doing his best to forget his troubles but today we learn that Chace made his way back to Texas in order to be formally charged for his crime:

“Gossip Girl” star Chace Crawford rolled into a McKinney, Texas courthouse just moments ago — where a judge will formally charge the actor for allegedly having an unlit joint in a car he was sitting in. Chace was technically charged earlier this month — but Texas law requires the actor to appear in court so the judge can make it official. Chace is facing one misdemeanor count of weed possession. TMZ broke the story — Chace was busted in a Plano, TX parking lot after cops claim they found one unlit joint in the car he was in with a friend. If convicted, Chace could face up to 6 months behind bars.

I’m telling you, Texas is not kidding around when it comes to law enforcement. They are quite serious when it comes to prosecuting crimes, especially drug cases so I’m not sure that Chace should be rolling into court lookin’ all smug and smiley. Still, celebs have an uncanny way of wiggling off the hook when they get into trubs. I cannot imagine that Chace will actually spend any time in jail for this alleged infraction but, again, we’re talking about Texas here. I guess we’ll have to wait and see. Any Texans in the hiz? Do any of y’all think that Chace will fry for his alleged crime?

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