‘Twilight’ remains atop US box office

Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart. AP FILE PHOTO

LOS ANGELES—The last “Twilight” vampire movie clung to the top of North America’s box office for a second weekend, fighting off the latest 007 movie “Skyfall” in second place, figures showed Monday.

“The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 2,” the fifth and final installment of the wildly popular series, took $43.6 million dollars, according to industry tracker Exhibitor Relations.

The previous four films, based on novels by Stephenie Meyer and starting in 2008, earned a colossal $2.4 billion altogether.

In second spot was the new James Bond movie “Skyfall,” which earned $35.5 million on its third weekend in theaters, or $51 over the combined five days including last Thursday’s Thanksgiving holiday.

Third place went to Steven Spielberg film “Lincoln,” starring Daniel Day-Lewis — tipped for an Oscar for his role of America’s assassinated 16th president — which had $25.7 million in ticket sales.

Entering the top 10 in fourth place was “Rise of the Guardians,” DreamWorks’s latest animated offering in which Jack Frost is called to help in the battle against evil. It took $23.8 million at the weekend.

Also new was 3D fantasy “Life of Pi” by Oscar-winning Taiwanese-American director Ang Lee, based on a Booker prize-winning novel about an Indian boy adrift on a lifeboat in the Pacific, which took $22.5 million in fifth place.

In sixth spot was “Wreck-It Ralph,” the animated Disney film about a video game villain with dreams of becoming a hero, which earned $16.6 million on its fourth week in theaters.

Another new entry, “Red Dawn,” about a group of teenagers look to save their town from an invasion of North Korean soldiers, took seventh place with $14.3 million worth of tickets sold.

In eighth spot was “Flight,” a vehicle for Denzel Washington, who is also drawing Oscar buzz for his role as a crash-landing hero pilot with substance abuse problems. It pulled in $8.5 million.

At number nine was “Silver Linings Playbook,” David O. Russell’s dramatic comedy about a man’s recovery from a meltdown, which won the Toronto Film Festival’s top prize in September, and earned $4.4 million this weekend.

Rounding out the top 10 was “Argo,” based on the true story of six Americans spirited out of Iran during the 1979-1980 hostage crisis. The film directed by and starring Ben Affleck earned $3.9 million.