LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Earning a massive $141.1 million last weekend, the finale of the "Twilight" series brought in fans, pushing "Breaking Dawn" to $227 million in total domestic ticket sales.

"Skyfall," starring Daniel Craig as 007 in the 23rd installment of the James Bond franchise, came in second place, collecting $51 million in weekend ticket sales in the United States and Canada.

Surprisingly, the serious and cerebral "Lincoln," Steven Spielberg's historical film on the last days of President Abraham Lincoln, grabbed third with $34.1 million over the holiday weekend.

"Rise of the Guardians," featuring the voices of Chris Pine and Alec Baldwin as the Tooth Fairy, Santa Claus came in fourth.

Anne Globe, Dreamworks' chief marketing officer, pointed to "the great parent reactions we've seen" to "Guardians," and noting it was among the few choices for families through the end of year, said the studio was "hoping for very long legs through the holidays."


The adaptation of Yann Martel's best-seller, "Life of Pi," was in fifth place. The thrilling tale of a boy who survives on a raft with a tiger after a shipwreck collected $30.15 million.

Adapted by Ang Li, "Life of Pi" performed stronger than expected. "We clearly exceeded our pre-release expectations," Chris Aronson, president of domestic distribution for 20th Century Fox said.

The remake of the 1984 Cold War film "Red Dawn," finished seventh with $22 million in sales, behind animated feature "Wreck It Ralph's" $23 million take.

"Red Dawn" has a highly interesting back story. Produced four years ago, it was delayed when MGM filed for bankruptcy in 2010. MGM decided to digitally alter the villains in the movie, inserting North Koreans instead of Chinese, after Hollywood began courting Chinese companies to help finance its films.

Hollywood ticket sales totaled $290 million for the holiday weekend, beating the holiday weekend high mark of $273 million recorded in 2009.

The Top Ten at the domestic box office for the Thanksgiving holiday went like this:

1. "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn"
2. "Skyfall"
3. "Lincoln"
4. "Rise of the Guardians"
5. "The Life of Pi"
6. "Wreck It Ralph"
7. "Red Dawn"
8. "Flight "
9. "Silver Linings Playbook"
10. "Argo"

© 2012, Catholic Online. Distributed by NEWS CONSORTIUM