“The Twilight Saga: Eclipse’’ is waning at the box office but still has gotten off to a blockbuster start with $161 million in its first five days, according to studio estimates yesterday. The third chapter in Summit Entertainment’s vampire romance fell off sharply after debuting Wednesday with $68.5 million. That was the second-best opening-day haul ever, behind its predecessor, last year’s “The Twilight Saga: New Moon,’’ which opened with $72.7 million. Summit estimates “Eclipse’’ will climb to around $181 million domestically by today. The weekend’s other new wide release, Paramount’s “The Last Airbender,’’ opened well with $40.7 million to finish at No. 2 for the three-day weekend. The movie took in $53.2 million since debuting Thursday. Disney’s animated smash “Toy Story 3,’’ which had been No. 1 the previous two weekends, slipped to third place with $30.2 million, raising its total to $289 million. (AP)
Swiss officials say they will decide soon whether to extradite Roman Polanski to the United States to face prosecution in a 1977 sex case. Justice Ministry spokesman Folco Galli says, “It won’t be long’’ before a decision. The 76-year-old director fled the United States on Feb. 1, 1978, the day he was to be sentenced for having sex with a 13-year-old girl. He was arrested on Sept. 26 as he came to receive a lifetime achievement award at a Zurich film festival. He has been under house arrest at his chalet in Gstaad since December. (AP)
Songwriter and singer Carole King has put her 128-acre central Idaho ranch back on the market with a reduced asking price of $16 million. The Robinson Bar Ranch compound near Stanley includes a 7,300-square-foot lodge, a private residence, a caretaker’s home, a professional recording studio, guest cabins, and horse barns. King put the ranch up for sale in 2006 for $19 million. (AP)
