Steve Mason is now on Facebook and also on Twitter (For immediate box office updates, "follow" me.) 

TUESDAY 9:30 p.m. (Pacific): The general consensus is that, although Four Christmases (Warner Bros.) is a flawed movie — I'm being kind — it is going to open. It's been very well cast, with Oscar winner Reese Witherspoon pulling Females Under 25, Vince Vaughn pumping up appeal with Males Under 25 and Oscar winners like Robert Duvall, Sissy Spacek and Mary Steenburgen luring in the 25 Plus crowd. The truth is that there is always room for a Christmas comedy at Thanksgiving. The high water mark was 2000's How the Grinch Stole Christmas, which opened with $55 million on its way to $260 million domestic, but there is a proven track record for Christmas-themed films opening either right at Thanksgiving or a week or two before.

Steve Mason is now on Facebook and also on Twitter! (For immediate box office updates, "follow" me.)

SUNDAY 9:30 a.m. (Pacific): Twilight (Summit), based on the wildly popular Stephenie Meyer series of novels, has blown past even the most optimistic industry expectations with an estimated $70.55 million opening weekend. The movie, which had teen girls lined up Thursday at midnight and generated an estimated $7.5 million by sunrise on Friday, finished its first day with about $35.7 million. The movie has proved to be hyper-frontloaded, however, diving 41 percent on Saturday for about $21 million, followed by a possible 34 percent Sunday slide for $13.9 million. (My published projection Friday night was $70.58 million.)

Steve Mason is now on Facebook.

Steve Mason is also on Twitter with user name SteveMason323. For immediate box office updates, "follow" me.

A housewife in suburban Phoenix is responsible for the movie that will dominate America's multiplexes this weekend. Twilight (Summit) is a phenomenon in industry tracking and advance sales, and two separate competing studio sources are telling me that they expect the film adaptation of Bella and Edward's forbidden romance to top $60 million in its opening three days.

It's not really proportional to compare Twilight author Stephenie Meyer to Harry Potter author J.K.  Rowling, especially since Meyer's success might not have been possible without Rowling before her. Both authors are moms who had never written anything prior to selling millions of novels with series that are widely read by teen and 'tweens. Meyer herself, however, does not believe that the Twilight saga could have become a sensation if Potter had never happened. Prior to Harry Potter, kids didn't read 500-page novels, grown-ups didn't read books targeted at kids, and publishers and booksellers didn't necessarily know how to market and sell novels like this.

Steve Mason is now on Facebook.

SUNDAY 12:00 p.m. (Pacific): The audacious reboot of the James Bond franchise paid off big with 2006's Casino Royale, and now Quantum of Solace (Sony) has hit an even bigger box-office jackpot. Whereas Daniel Craig's 007 debut opened with $40.8 million, the new Bond, which picks up where Royale left off, will better that mark by almost $30 million, with $70.4 million at U.S. theaters. That is a 72 percent increase. In fact, Quantum of Solace has opened about 50 percent better than the previous biggest Bond opening, Pierce Brosnan in Die Another Day in 2002, which started with $47.1 million.

reboot: to restart a film franchise, ignoring everything that pertains to the story and characters from previous films; often includes a distinct change in tone

Back in 2003, when Warner Bros. began discussing a new version of Batman, the concept of rebooting a film franchise didn't really exist. As director Christopher Nolan tried to decided who would assume "the cape," he couldn't have realized that he would be revolutionizing the way major studios approach their most lucrative franchises.

When Paramount/Dreamworks unleashed back-to-back-to-back $200 million-grossing titles starting with Iron Man in May, they seemed like an "iron-clad" lock to win the big studio market share battle for 2008. Then along came Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight, which has rocked the nation to the tune of almost $530 million domestic. TDK has ensured that Warner Bros. will secure its first market share title since 2005, and despite the rampaging success of Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, Paramount cannot catch them.

There are, however, lots of ways to look at the year's box office. In terms of total domestic tickets sold, the crown goes to Warner Bros., but they have released 16 movies in 2008 compared to just 13 for Paramount/DreamWorks. So, I was curious, what is the average box office per movie for each of the so-called Big 6?

Steve Mason is now on Facebook.

SUNDAY 9:30 a.m. (Pacific): By the time Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa finishes its domestic run, DreamWorks will have accomplished something that Disney has never pulled off and that Pixar has never even attempted. Jeffrey Katzenberg will have released a pair $200 million-grossing animated films in the same year.

The decidedly multiculti Escape 2 Africa has scored a spectacular $63.5 million opening weekend. With only Quantum of Solace (Sony) opening next week, M:E2A movie has the family audience to itself until Bolt (Disney) arrives on Nov. 21. It is very safe to project a domestic haul of $200 million-plus, and my hunch (and sources) say that it will likely surpass the $215.4 million generated by June's Kung Fu Panda. I am also sticking with $550 million-$600 million as the likely international take, and it seems like the top of the range is probable.

After trick-or-treating blotted out last Friday at the box office, the movie industry recovered with a strong Saturday and Sunday, and now Hollywood is gearing up for a spectacular start to the holiday movie season. Industry tracking suggests that Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (DreamWorks/Paramount) will enjoy a huge opening. Execs from three separate competing studios have told me that this one will crack $60 million by Monday morning.

Some have been writing about an even bigger start for M:E2A and, although it is possible, the fact that the original 2005 film opened with a three-day take of $47 million is a bit misleading. Those were the first three days of a long four-day Memorial Day weekend, leading to an exceedingly strong Sunday.

On the same day that the new James Bond saga Quantum of Solace (Sony) set a new opening-day record in the United Kingdom, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (DreamWorks/Paramount) broke all-time opening-day records for an American-made film in both Russia and Ukraine. This is just the beginning for Alex the Lion (Ben Stiller), Marty the Zebra (Chris Rock), Melman the Giraffe (David Schwimmer) and Gloria the Hippo (Jada Pinkett Smith). The movie opens in the United States this Friday, and it is a surefire homefront blockbuster.

The 22nd installment of the James Bond franchise, Quantum of Solace (Sony), has grabbed a record-shattering £4.94 million on its opening day in the United Kingdom, which is about $8 million in U.S. dollars. That is approximately 42 percent higher than the first day of Casino Royale, the first 007 adventure to feature Daniel Craig as Bond, and it represents an all-time single day record for the United Kingdom.