'Eclipse' brings in $24.2 mil Thursday

"The Twilight Saga: Eclipse" continued to seduce plenty of moviegoers Thursday as it took in an estimated $24.2 million, but it isn't exerting quite as strong a gravitational pull as its predecessor "New Moon," which took in $42.3 million on its second day of release in November.

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At the crowded multiplex, Thursday also saw the debut of Paramount's mythic fantasy "The Last Airbender" in 3,169 locations, including 1,606 3D playdates. The PG-rated tale directed by M. Night Shyamalan took in $16.4 million, including the $3 million it scored at midnight screenings as it aims for number two status in the weekend listings.

Summit's vampire- and werewolf-filled romance has collected about $92.8 million during its first two days of release in 4,416 theaters in North America, which compares to "Moon's" first two-day gross of nearly $115 million.

But the two films are following slightly different release patterns. "Moon" opened on a Friday and pulled in $142.8 million over its first, three-day weekend.

"Eclipse" dawned with 12 a.m. screenings on Wednesday, establishing a new Wednesday opening boxoffice record of $68.5 million, including its monster $30 million midnight screenings. By the end of this holiday weekend, "Eclipse" is expected to have collected more than $150 million in its first six days.

Additionally, Summit reported that the movie attracted an estimated $16.2 million on its first day of release Wednesday in 21 foreign markets, including Italy, Brazil and Russia.