"The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2" continued to lead the box office on Thanksgiving Day

No new movies have been able to challenge blockbusters "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2" and "Skyfall," which continue to lead the box office over the first two days of the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.

Among a trio of new pictures, "Rise of the Guardians" is shaping up to be the worst opening in six years for DreamWorks Animation, while "Life of Pi" started slow but appears to be building with good word-of-mouth, and the remake of "Red Dawn" is off to a decent start.

The newest and final "Twilight" sequel easily topped the box office Wednesday and eked out a victory Thursday with $12.8 million and $8.1 million, respectively. Total box office in the U.S. and Canada since the teen vampire romance opened last Friday is $183.8 million. That's $4.7 million ahead of "Breaking Dawn Part 1" at the same point last year, but $4.3 million behind 2009's "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse."

It appears "Breaking Dawn Part 2" will end up grossing virtually the same amount as the last few "Twilight" movies, dashing the hopes of some at studio Lionsgate that, like the final "Harry Potter" movie, it could beat its predecessors.

"Skyfall," meanwhile, has become the highest grossing James Bond movie of all time domestically and with healthy $7.3 million and $7.5 million receipts Wednesday and Thursday, should keep going for a while. Its total domestic gross as of the holiday was $185.6 million.

With only $4.9 million on its opening day Wednesday and $3.7 million Thursday, "Rise of the Guardians" is unlikely to gross more than $30 million through Sunday. That would be lower than any three-day opening weekend for a film from studio DreamWorks Animation since the 2006 flop "Flushed Away."

"Life of Pi," a pricey 3-D adaptation of the bestselling novel, got off to a less-than-impressive start Wednesday with $3.7 million. However, it enjoyed the best Wednesday-to-Thursday rise of any movie in the top 10, a sign that word-of-mouth is strong and 20th Century Fox's picture could enjoy a long life in theaters. With a 23% rise in ticket sales Thursday to $4.5 million, "Life of Pi's" total gross was $8.2 million.

"Red Dawn," a long-delayed remake of the Reagan-era movie about invading Communists, opened to $4.2 million Wednesday and dropped to $3.2 million Thursday. That's a fine start for the film that was produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer but inexpensively acquired by independent distributor FilmDistrict.

Audiences seemed to enjoy all three new movies. "Rise of the Guardians" earned an average grade of A  from opening day attendees, according to research firm CinemaScore, "Life of Pi" got an A- and "Red Dawn" a B.

"Lincoln" also continues to do solid business, coming in No. 3 at the box office on Thanksgiving. With $4.2 million Wednesday and $4.9 million Thursday, the total gross for the historical biopic starring Daniel Day-Lewis is $37.2 million after six days in national release.

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"The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2" hits theaters Friday, and reviewers are weighing in about whether the vampire finale is bloody good or a lifeless mess.

Regardless of the critical consensus, Twi-hards are almost certain to show up, but based on the early notices "Part 2" is more likely to be shortlisted for Razzies than Oscars come awards time. The film scored a lackluster 52 percent "rotten" rating on critics aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, with many reviewers breaking out the garlic and stakes to condemn the film's sluggish pacing and wooden performances.

"The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2" focuses on Bella (Kristen Stewart) as she adjusts to life as a mother and a vampire. Robert Pattinson returns as the brooding bloodsucker Edward Cullen and Taylor Lautner is back as the oft-shirtless, part werewolf Jacob.

On TheWrap, critic Alonso Duralde was largely positive, praising director Bill Condon for bringing some bite to the franchise. Where the film falls short, he argued, is in its source material - the series of novels by Stephenie Meyer that started a phenomenon but were derided for their tortured prose.

"Credit Condon with putting these cardboard characters and their loony dilemmas into a rich atmosphere; whether we're running through the woods with those ridiculous wolves or following Bella through a lit-for-Christmas Seattle, the director and cinematographer Guillermo Navarro ('Pan's Labyrinth') give the wintry settings a palpable sense of chilly foreboding," Duralde wrote.

The best thing that Peter Travers could say about "Breaking Dawn" deux was that it signaled the series was finally over. TheRolling Stone critic acknowledged that it was better than other films in the franchise but struggled to find much else to praise.

"You're going to hear a lot about 'Breaking Dawn Part 2' being the best of the Twilight movies. That's like saying a simple head cold is preferable to swine flu," he wrote. "They'll all make you sick."

Also left filled with bile was Dana Stevens. The Slate critic said the film ends on a suitably shocking climax, but getting there takes way too long.

"Splitting the last book in Stephenie Meyer's teen-vampire series into two separate movies may have been a wise business decision - with guaranteed throngs of adoring Twi-hards willing to go back for multiple viewings, why not eke out an extra sequel? - but it leaves the last film in the series with no place to go," Stevens wrote.

The movie is so dull, complained San Francisco Chronicle's Mick LaSalle, that audiences might contemplate doing bodily harm to themselves an hour into the latest visit to Forks, Wash.

"One final question: If they've been alive for 800 years, why does every female vampire sound like a Valley Girl? Are they endlessly adaptive, or did they all really stand out in Victorian England?," LaSalle wrote. It wasn't all pans. A few critics, such as the New York Times' Manohla Dargis found herself on Team Breaking Dawn. Though she griped about its languid pace, Dargis said Condon and his supple stars evoke the glamor of classic Hollywood screen couples. In the process she becomes probably the first critic to compare "Twilight" to the films of George Stevens.

"From the first extreme close-up of Bella fluttering open her dark, feathery eyelashes, Mr. Condon makes this 'Twilight' an intensely tactile and intimate experience," Dargis wrote. "Taking his cues from the Golden Age of Hollywood the close-ups of Bella and Edward bring to mind those of Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Clift in "A Place in the Sun." He bathes his stars in a gleaming light that gives their pale faces a luxurious alabaster sheen. This is one movie that should have been shot in 3D if only to allow the fans to caress the air."

Owen Gleiberman was similarly enraptured by Bella, Edward and their toothsome friends. The Entertainment Weekly critic said that the series benefits from a showstopper of a twist ending.

"It made me realize that, as narratively lumpy as they can be, I like the Twilight films because they're really about the eternal movie romance of vampires at play," Gleiberman wrote.

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Kristen Stewart is in negotiations to star in 'Focus' alongside Ben Affleck.

Kristen Stewart is in talks to star in 'Focus'.

The 'Twilight Saga' actress has entered into negotiations to play the role of a young girl who teams up with an experience con-man - played by Ben Affleck- to teach her the ways of the crime world.

However, difficulty ensues when the pair become romantically involved but they find it hard to maintain their relationship because of the deception so inherent in their craft.

The pair split up, but meet several years later with unexpected consequences for both of them.

Glenn Ficarra and John Requa - best known for their work on romantic comedy 'Crazy, Stupid, Love' with Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone - are directing the picture, which is backed by Warner Bros.

If negotiations are completed, Kristen and Ben will begin shooting in early 2013.

Kristen will next be seen in the final instalment of the 'Twilight' franchise 'The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2', while Ben has films including 'Runner, Runner' and 'To The Wonder' due out in the near future.

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Robert Pattinson And Kristen Stewart

While "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2" isn't rated R, none of the credit for that should go to Kristen Stewart. In fact, the star, who plays Bella Swan in the vampire series, seems to have done everything in her power to have the sex scenes turn out as intense as possible.

Stewart did much the same during production on "Breaking Dawn: Part 1," but this time, the actress thought her character could stand to be a little wilder. With both Bella and Edward now vampires in "Part 2," the intimate scenes didn't have to be so chaste, she reasoned.

"In ['Part 2,'] we just wanted it to be animals, you're not humans anymore," Stewart said during the movie's Comic-Con press conference. "Yeah, how do you do that? We tried, and they told us it was rated R, and we were like [snaps]."

In the end, of course, the final installment of the "Twilight" series won't be rated R, so the more intimate scenes will likely be edited or left on the cutting room floor. Stewart admitted she had a hard time finding the balance between coital moments that were appropriate and those that would get her in trouble with the MPAA.

"The ratings, man. It's a tricky thing," she said. "We're supposed to have mind-boggling, otherworldly sex in 'Breaking Dawn - 1,' and we really this is weird tried to keep the first one sweet. It was really just about discovery. Nothing about this series is raunchy."

This is Stewart's fourth time to Comic-Con, and she admitted that she feels a connection with the fans who attend. A self-professed fan of "The Twilight Saga" novels even before nabbing the lead role, Stewart said it's nice to be surrounded by kindred spirits.

"I have been obsessed with this thing and it's been such a personal experience and you look over and there are other people that identify with things that I do and that shared energy is the coolest," she said. "It's very igniting, it spreads. You like something and you can share it with your friend. Suddenly you guys love it do you know what I mean? because you share it. I don't know why this thing was the one that people became obsessed with, but I think it sort of just lit."

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Providing some off-screen entertainment as they enjoy a night out on the town, Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart were spotted at a Marcus Foster concert Dingwalls in London last night (November 23).

Creating quite a buzz, the "Breaking Dawn" duo tried to enter the venue on the discretely, but soon found a gaggle of paparazzi snapping up every moment of their evening.

Despite the unwanted press, the overly-private pair engaged in some serious PDA according to an eyewitness. "Rob had his fingers tucked into Kristen’s jean pocket, and she was holding his hand there,” our source recalls. “She also had her other arm wrapped around him. They were swaying to the music and kept whispering things in each other’s ears," dished the source.

Joined by fellow concertgoer Tom Sturridge, Kristen found herself screaming out "Marcus Foster!" as the Rob couldn't hide his found feelings for her, grinning "so big" as they laughed the night away.

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Kristen Stewart dons armor and wields a huge sword and shield for her next movie. Rest assured, it will not be your mother and father's Snow White.

Stewart joined other cast and crew Saturday at the Comic-Con fan convention for a preview of next year's "Snow White and the Huntsman," an action packed twist on the fairy tale.

The "Twilight" star told a Comic Con crowd that doing a sweet, traditional Snow White was not something "I was jumping at." What attracted her was that this Snow White was a bold leader with her feet firmly on the ground.

"Also, I get to have a sword and stuff," Stewart said. "Really cool weapons."
The movie is due out next June and is one of two "Snow White" movies Hollywood has coming. The other, due out next March, features Julia Roberts as the evil queen.
The cast of Stewart's "Snow White" includes Charlize Theron as the wicked queen, Chris Hemsworth as a rugged huntsman and Sam Claflin as a prince.

The movie starts shooting in a few weeks. Director Rupert Sanders showed off photos of the stars in costume, among them Stewart in her fighting outfit and Theron in a sleek black gown with savagely high and sharp collars.

How evil is Theron's queen?

"She's a serial killer," Theron said. "I'm pretty much preparing to play a serial killer."
Sanders also showed a photo of the dwarves that accompany Snow White in this version, all standing in a row looking scruffier than a gang in a police lineup. The actors playing them include Ian McShane, Bob Hoskins, Ray Winstone, Nick Frost and Toby Jones.

There are eight dwarves rather than the usual seven. Sanders said "there are eight because there are a few great lines when one of them gets killed."

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