The second film in Peter Jackson’s “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, The Two Towers, stormed the box office like an army of vicious orcs last Wednesday, garnering an estimated $42 million one day worldwide gross – $26 million domestic and $16 million international – up nearly 45% from last year¹s one day worldwide gross of $29 million. The film broke all single day records in Denmark and marked the highest opening day ever in Germany, Austria, Finland, Holland, Switzerland, Belgium, Sweden and Norway. Yup, people are feeling Hobbit love worldwide.
Domestically, the film surpassed the opening day receipts of its predecessor by 44% (last year, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring opened at $18 million). The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers drew moviegoers as early as Tuesday night when fans lined up for sold-out midnight showings at 3,622 theaters. The film is the second highest Wednesday opener ever (behind 1999¹s Star Wars: The Phantom Menace at $28.5M). Internationally, the film posted a $16 million overall gross, up 45% from last year (Fellowship bowed to an $11 million overall opening day internationally). The film is playing on nearly 12,000 screens worldwide, 6,633 screens domestic and 5,000 internationally.
Harry Potter, who?
