The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1, the penultimate movie in the hugely popular vampire franchise, maintained its position at the top of the box office for the third week running - this despite a warning to epilepsy sufferers that the film could spark seizures.
The movie, starring Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart, pulled in a further $16.9 million last week to take its domestic total to $247.3 million. The movie features the birth of Bella's (Stewart) child, although the scene has reportedly sparked nine seizures believed to have been caused by the flashing white lights during the sequence. News of the alleged seizures was first reported by ABC News last week, though despite certain theatres in Manhattan putting up warning signs it doesn't appear to have put off moviegoers. Elsewhere at the box office, The Muppets finished in second place with takings of $11.2 million, taking its total to $56.1 million, while Martin Scorsese's acclaimed 3D picture 'Hugo' also made it into the top five. Arthur Christmas and Happy Feet 2 performed relatively well, while Michael Fassbender's sex addiction drama Shame finished in sixth place despite opening in just 10 locations.
This weekend could finally see the end of Twilight's reign at the top of the box office, with Garry Marshall's celebrity filled New Year's Eve hitting screens, along with Jonah Hill's 'The Sitter' and the Charlize Theron movie 'Young Adult'. This week also sees the U.S. release of the Cold War thriller Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, featuring a stand out performance from Gary Oldman as spy hero George Smiley.