So elegant. So ladylike. So demure. So professional. So mature. So humble. So NOT bratty. Kristen Stewart has been in Paris the past few days, and these are some photos of Kristen leaving a meeting/photo shoot. She decided to flip off… someone. Or some group of people, likely her fans or the paparazzi. You know, because she’s SO HARDCORE. I’m so tired of seeing this girl’s middle finger, I can’t even tell you. This is her default action, and IMO it speaks volumes about her default brattiness. I wonder what Karl Lagerfeld thought of Kristen’s antics? I can’t imagine he was impressed.

At first, people didn’t know why she was there, but after these photos came out, people began putting all of the pieces together. She was working with Karl Lagerfeld (who you can see in one of these photos) and Mario Testino for a photo shoot for Vanity Fair. I’m assuming it’s for American Vanity Fair, but it’s possible it could be for an international edition. Kristen was spotted posing for Testino in one of Paris’s famous parks, all while decked out in (likely Chanel) couture – you can see the photo here. Do you know how many young actresses would kill for even a fraction of the opportunities Kristen is handed? Do you know how harshly those ladies would be judged if they threw their middle finger up at the drop of a hat? Why does Kristen get a pass again? Because she’s always so twitchy, sullen and unprofessional, and people have just gotten used to it? I’m just saying… Jennifer Lawrence is the same age as Kristen. If you were a casting director, who would you want? Twitchy McBird-Waver or Classy McOscar-Nom?

Also, there’s a rumor going around that Kristen will be the Cannes Film Festival this year – On the Road is likely going to be submitted for competition. Lip-biting on the French Riveria… oh la la.

Photos courtesy of Fame.

I talk a lot of smack about Kristen Stewart, some of which she deserves, some of it she might not. But at the end of the day, I do think she’s a pretty girl, and I think she’s making some interesting career moves. This one took me by surprise, though – Kristen was just named the new face of Balenciaga’s fragrance for women. K-Stew will the the official lip-biter for a perfume! This is her first endorsement deal – apart from all of the Twilight crap, of course – and Balenciaga is an interesting choice for her. I think if Kristen had been brought in to work with a more mainstream company like, say, Lancome, there would be a backlash, just as there was with Emma Watson and her Justin Bieber haircut. But to sign on to front a perfume for the not-so-mainstream Balenciaga? It’s a surprisingly smart move.

Last year, Kristen Stewart’s fans watched her transform from a grungy tomboy to a glamorous style star who rocked gorgeous gowns on the red carpet and posed for the covers of W and Vogue.

And the 21-year-old Twilight star just landed her first high profile fashion gig as the face of the newest Balenciaga fragrance for women.

“Balenciaga has always stood out to me,” Stewart told WWD. “Even when I first began to consider fashion and admittedly rarely knew the brand I was wearing, I always recognized and loved Balenciaga. It feels full circle to be involved with something that spoke to me then and of course continues to excite me now. The brand is just cool. That’s the way it is. I feel drawn to it. It provokes on a number of levels. It isn’t afraid or contrived. It hits a very cool balance, always. Always pretty undeniable.”

The fragrance campaign is expected to be launched this fall. In the meantime, Stewart is enjoying some rare downtime after shooting three films in 2011 (On the Road, Snow White and the Huntsman and The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2).

[From Us Weekly]

We get it, honey. It’s COOL. You would never associate with anything less than COOL. Damn, do you remember what that was like? I remember being, oh… 15 years old. And everything was about being cool. You would just die if you ever did anything uncool. Coolness was the ultimate goal in life. And Kristen’s bringing that hipster cred (for real?) to Balenciaga.

I’m including the Snow White & the Huntsman trailer again, just because I think this was another smart move for K-Stew, career-wise. I’m actually looking forward to seeing this.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

I have some affection for Nikki Reed as a relatively nice-seeming castmember of the Twilight franchise. I haven’t seen an interview with her before. So I was surprised by the fact that she has a kind of a nasally, mildly annoying voice. Nikki takes the cover of Seventeen’s December/January issue, which we first saw a preview of six weeks ago.

Seventeen released a behind-the-scenes video of Nikki’s interview and photoshoot (above) and she gives some totally unremarkable comments about what she’ll miss about her Twilight costars. She says that Kristen Stewart makes good desserts, that Robert Pattinson tells elaborate stories and is a “good storyteller,” that Taylor Lautner has a lot of energy, and that Kellan Lutz is a goofball. Ashley Greene gives her workout tips and fashion advice (I get the impression that she’s a mini-Goop) and Jackson Rathbone jams out with her now-husband, former AI contestant Paul McDonald.

So everything Nikki said was diplomatic and my impression of her as a nice person was confirmed. If you read between the lines on what she said in the actual interview she may be hinting at some kind of issues with her costars. She said (and we covered this a while ago) that “success comes along and changes the dynamic. We’re not all best friends, and we’re not all going to hang out together after the final movie is done.” She also claimed in that video interview that what she’ll miss about Twilight is the time at the beginning of filming, when everything was innocent.

HollywoodLife claims that in this video Nikki disses Robert Pattinson as a liar and confirms a feud with him and his now-girlfriend, Kristen Stewart. GossipCop calls them out for drawing spurious conclusions, and I agree that they’re really reaching with that one. That doesn’t mean that there’s no feud though.

Quick background: Rumor has it that Nikki dated Robert Pattinson before Kristen Stewart and that Kristen and Nikki were friends back then. Kristen had another boyfriend at the beginning of filming, who was also friends with Nikki prior to when Kristen dumped him and hooked up with Robert. (Not necessarily in that order and more background is here.) So there’s probably bad blood there but I doubt they’re seething at each behind the scenes.

I think the most telling thing in Seventeen, though, is this first person work of “fiction” Nikki wrote about a young girl in love with a charismatic guy who convinced her that they should keep their romance a secret:

It had been almost a year since we began dating, but nobody knew about us. Sometimes I would bring it up casually, but he always found a way to twist and turn his words until they morphed into a theory that seemed to make sense. He was good with his words, and I was good at coming up with reasons to believe them. Only a few friends at school were allowed to know about us, and they were mostly hand selected by him.

At the time it made sense, because he was convincing when he spoke about privacy being a persons number one priority. Sometimes I would tell him half jokingly that I wanted to scream it out to the world on a megaphone, because that’s what being in love made me feel like doing. He never smiled at that. Although my mom sensed there was something unusually dark about him, I always argued that it was self-induced. Besides, I couldn’t let myself believe that I was too good for him. He was endlessly charming, and intelligent, and philosophical beyond his years. At least that’s how he would secretly want to be described.

I knew I loved him, and that’s all that mattered. Sure I wasn’t the prettiest girl in the world, but he always said he liked me for that very reason, so I felt content with that. Most of the time that is. One time, I gathered the courage to sing a song in front of him in the lunch room (I had always loved singing), and he laughed and said “…that’s what’s so great about you; even though you aren’t a good singer, you’re not afraid to try.” That’s a compliment right?

[From Seventeen, written by Nikki Reed]

That to me is way more revealing than the fact that she called Robert a good story teller. She’s married at this point, so you would think she’d be over this though. Maybe that explains why she got married so quickly in the first place.

Nikki is shown on 11/14, 11/15 and 11/16. Credit: Pacific Coast News and Fame

Two weekends ago, there was an OMG SCANDAL in which Robert Pattinson was seen in the vicinity of a girl who was not Kristen Stewart. OMG. Actually, it was a bit more scandalous than that – Sparkles and Sarah Roemer were seen hanging out at a club and then they got into the same car. OK! Magazine even claims that Sparkles “stroked” Sarah’s hand in the car. OMG I bet she’s pregnant now!!! Anyway, OK! Mag has a hilarious/sad story about what’s really going on between Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson: basically, Kristen is a neurotic mess over Robert’s flirtations…? Who buys that? But I do buy that Rob “adores” Kristen:

It was the canoodle felt round the world: On Dec. 3, Twilight’s Robert Pattinson left L.A.’s La Poubelle restaurant with actress Sarah Roemer, then squeezed into the backseat of a waiting car and stroked her hand — this with Rob’s on-and-off- screen love, Kristen Stewart, 5,000 miles away in England, filming Snow White and the Huntsman. So speculation flew: Was Edward cheating on Bella? Twi-hards were aghast — and Kristen was furious.

“Rob’s one of the world’s biggest heartthrobs and Kristen’s never been able to relax the whole time she’s been with him,” an insider tells OK!. “This was, like, her worst fear realized.”

Rob, 25, denies any infidelity, claiming it was an innocent night out with platonic pals. But now the brooding screen vampire is terrified that Kristen, 21, might come home and toss his guitar and hoodies into the street — and he’s desperately trying to save their relationship.

“Rob’s in total panic mode at the thought of losing Kristen,” the insider says. “He’s desperate to keep her and is virtually groveling on bent knee.”

To return to Kristen’s good graces, Rob is buying her a spectacular Christmas present: A diamond ring.

“He’s designing it himself and wants to put an inscription inside,” a friend of Kristen tells OK!. “He asked if their initials were too cheesy, but Rob really is a hopeless romantic. He adores Kristen,” the friend adds. “He wakes up thinking of her and goes to bed thinking of her. And he would do anything for her.”

Another measure of Rob’s devotion? In a recent interview he hinted at having children with Kristen. Asked if he’d like to be a young father, Rob replied, “I think that would be nice.”

There appears to be some work to do first — the Sarah flap is only the latest bump of a rocky period in Robstenland.

“Kristen and Rob have been arguing a lot,” says a pal of Rob. “They’re overworked; their tempers are short.” But more than anything else, what’s fueling the discord is just plain jealousy. Working on separate film projects in between Twilight stints, Rob and Kristen have often been continents apart. Texting and Skyping only go so far both young stars face temptation. In the early days of the Twilight phenomenon, of course, it was mainly Rob who was fending off amorous advances from fans — and fueling gossip. While making 2010’s dark romance Remember Me, for instance, he got uncomfortably (for K-Stew, at least) close to co-star Emilie de Ravin.

“Rob loves the attention he’s been getting from hot women,” his friend tells OK!. “Growing up in London, he never had that. So he’s been taking advantage of his popularity by flirting.”

But, increasingly, it’s becoming a two-way street. Much like Twilight alter ego Bella Swan, Kristen has become more comfortable with her sexuality.

“Having so many enamored male fans drool over her has made Kristen feel the sexiest she’s ever felt,” says Rob’s friend. “Because of her newfound confidence, she finds herself wanting to flirt more. Kristen claims it’s all in good fun.”

Rob isn’t laughing — he’s especially steamed over Kristen’s recent outing with On the Road co-star Garrett Hedlund, and the attention she lavishes on easy-on-the-eyes Twilight co-star Taylor Lautner. In fact, Kristen’s friend suggests that Rob may have played up the Sarah incident just to make her jealous: “He does everything to keep Kristen’s attention. She doesn’t tend to be the type to dote on him, and it drives him crazy.”

Clearly, the next few weeks are crucial for the golden couple’s relationship. “Rob’s saying all the right things,” an insider says. “Kristen wants to trust him more than anything, and there’s no doubt she’d love to be Mrs. Pattinson one day.”

The holidays may provide a cooling off period. Kristen is spending Christmas in L.A. with her mother, Jules, while Rob flies back to London to be with his folks. Kristen’s friend is hopeful the romance will survive.

“They’re young, in love, rich, famous and their careers couldn’t be better,” the pal tells OK!. “For them it’s really just about enjoying their time together. Kristen is always saying they should live in the moment and not worry about what comes next.”

[From OK! Magazine]

I tend to believe that Kristen is the one who will cheat, if I had to make a choice between the two of them. Kristen allegedly screwed around WITH Sparkles when she was with her previous boyfriend, Michael Angarano – and I do think there was some overlap between the two relationships. Kristen seems really good at playing the game of keeping Robert interested in her, and I suspect she’s a withholder, and he’s a bit of a masochist. He’s always reaching out, and she’s always pulling away. That’s what makes them work. For now. Give it another year.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

I didn’t write about this yesterday because I didn’t really think there was much to it, first of all, and second of all, the story made me too happy, and Kristen Stewart super-fans already hate me enough (because I dare to call their idol a “twitchy lip-biter”), so I don’t need the extra dramz. The basic gist is that Robert Pattinson was spotted out and about in LA – WITH ANOTHER WOMAN. The woman in question is named Sarah Roemer – the only thing I know her from is Disturbia, that half-decent Shia LaBeouf film. I always think Roemer is like a budget Blake Lively – don’t they look alike to you? They even slouch in the same way. Anyway, Sarah and Robert were acting friendly towards each other and then they got into the same car. OMG.

They have one of the most talked-about relationships in Hollywood. But it seems not all is well with Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart, judging by photographs of the Twilight star leaving a bar in Los Feliz last night with Disturbia actress Sarah Roemer.

The 25-year-old actor attempted to keep his head down as he left the La Poubelle bar and made his way home in a car inside which Roemer was already waiting.

It’s claimed that Pattinson and Roemer had spent the evening with friends in the bar, before the group made their way to Soho House in West Hollywood. The pair are then alleged to have left Soho House together in a car driven by Roemer.

Robert is likely to know Sarah through girlfriend Kristen, who worked with the actress on her 2007 film Cutlass.

Pattinson and Stewart have been photographed together in recent months while promoting their most recent movie Breaking Dawn: Part I. However, the pictures of Pattinson, who looked scruffy in a checked shirt, leaving the bar with Roemer are unlikely to impress his girlfriend. And Roemer wasn’t the only female Pattinson attracted during his evening out.

An onlooker told X17Online.com: ‘Rob was literally fending off advances from girls, left and right. Every female in the bar wanted to get close to him and for the most part, he politely ignored them but one girl caught his eye and she left with him!’

Roemer is most famous for starring opposite Shia LaBeouf in 2007 thriller Disturbia. She has since appeared in US TV show The Event, as well as the new series of Hawaii Five-0.

[From The Mail]

This is the kind of story that makes me wonder what kind of s–tstorm awaits Pattinson whenever he and Kristen really do break up. I think it will depend on who does the dumping, and exactly when it happens – I keep rooting for them to break up before Breaking Dawn Part II premieres, just because I love a good, awkward red carpet. But the safe bet is that Kristen and Rob will be done by this time next year. How much is Robert’s life going to suck then? I’m guessing he goes back to England and “hides out” for a few years.

Oh, and in case you were seriously worried about Rob and Kristen, a “source” (probably from the studio) went to People Mag and said that “Rob rented a new house in L.A. and Stewart’s dog was walked by a dog walker yesterday by the home, leading to believe she will be staying there when she returns for the holidays.” Convoluted reasoning – Rob is renting a house in LA, and Kristen’s dog was seen in the area…? OMG DEFINITIVE PROOF.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

What are the general thoughts on Michelle Trachtenberg? I think she’s a pretty little thing, but I don’t have an opinion on her talent or her personality. She seems kind of bland to me, but then again, I was never into Buffy. I’ve never gotten the needy-famewhore vibe off of her, and she doesn’t seem to be one of those hyper-ambitious girls just dying to see her name in the press. So this new interview with Michelle seems out of character. Michelle drops this bombshell: she was up for the role in Bella Swan in Twilight. Can you feel the Twihard Fatwa coming down on Michelle? I can.

Michelle Trachtenberg was a vampire slayer’s little sister on Buffy, and she could’ve fallen in love with a creature of the night on the silver screen, too!

The 26-year-old actress told Us Weekly Wednesday at the opening of LOLA in NYC that she was indeed considered for a role in the Twilight films. “There was definitely interest here and there because there’s only so few pale girls in Hollywood,” she explained.

“I’ve known [director] Catherine Hardwicke since the movie Thirteen,” she said. “I was actually supposed to star in that, but I was on Buffy at the time.” (Hardwicke, who went on to directed the very first Twilight film in 2009, directed the saga’s star Nikki Reed in the 2003 drama and Evan Rachel Wood played the film’s primary character. Reed cowrote the gritty screenplay.)

So why did Reed, Kristen Stewart and Ashley Greene end up as Breaking Dawn’s leading ladies instead of Trachtenberg? “I guess schedules never worked out,” she explained.

“I already have Buffy,” she added. “I’ve already done the vampire thing.”

But the Gossip Girl star doesn’t want to speculate how her life would be different if she’d starred opposite Robert Pattinson in the blockbuster films. “[Hypothetical answers mean] you’re not living in the moment and you’re looking negatively at what you’re doing now,” she mused.

[From Us Weekly]

I’ve read way too much about Twilight, but I’ve never heard anything about this. I thought the casting story went like this: Catherine Hardwicke’s first choice for Bella was always Kristen Stewart (who at that point was fresh off of Into the Wild, which got her a lot of attention) – Kristen was offered the part and she said yes immediately. All of the casting drama was with Edward, and it took months for Robert Pattinson to be cast. Isn’t that how it went? Or was there a “search” to find the right Bella and several actresses were considered, including Michelle Trachtenberg? Or is all of this just wishful (famewhore) thinking on Michelle’s part?

And in a parallel universe, what would the world be like if Michelle had been cast as Bella? Would Robert Pattinson have fallen for Michelle instead??! OMG.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

In Touch Weekly decided that Breaking Dawn Part 1 just hasn’t made enough money quite yet, so they went with a cover story that is pretty much a free advertisement. OMG TWILIGHT WEDDING! Only it’s REAL. Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart are totally TOTALLY going to get married just like Bella and Edward and everything is going to be so totally amazing and OMG.

According to In Touch’s story, Sparkles is “already” planning a romantic proposal to Kristen. Here’s a funny line – “They’re sending out joint holiday cards this year to close friends. It’s their way of saying the wedding invitation is next.” OMG Christmas cards!!! Let’s see, what else… no wedding date yet, but that’s not shocking if Sparkles is still in the planning stages of the proposal. Kristen and Rob already know that they want a “small ceremony” though. And they’re super-favorite spot in the world is the Isle of Wright – “Their best times together were spent on the Isle of Wight. When they were at the height of the Twilight hysteria they’d be able to sneak away there and just be with each other.” But what about the push-pull of two careers? “They agreed to take three years to get their careers going after Twilight. Then, she will take a year off.” Because she’ll try to have a sparkly BABY.

I’m including some newly-released stills from Breaking Dawn of Bella’s Carolina Herrera wedding gown – I don’t care for it from the front, but from the back, it’s lovely.

PS… in a much more interesting tabloid story, Star Magazine claims this week that Kristen is still pissed off at Nikki Reed for sleeping with Sparkles before she (Kristen) got around to him. A source tells the mag: “Kristen has never forgiven Nikki for the fling she had with Rob. Kristen never confronted Rob about the affair, she just put the blame on Nikki and accused her of pursuing him. Nikki is very vocal about Kristen not being supportive of her success. Nikki is not one to censor herself to avoid confrontation and Kristen doesn’t like that. Miraculously, Robert’s been able to maintain a friendship with Nikki. But it won’t last, not if Kristen has anything to say about it.” I believe that story so much more than the wedding one.

Photos courtesy of Summit Entertainment, In Touch.

I somehow missed last week’s Star Magazine cover story, and I apologize for that, because it is HILARIOUS. It’s all about “Celebrity Stylists Tell All” and those stylists – all totally anonymous, of course – are massive bitches. They want to take everybody down, but I just wanted to excerpt my favorite pieces:

Kristen Stewart: “She has grubby nails, ratty sneakers and a bad attitude. Very few people want to work with her because she doesn’t want to look good.” (via The Mail)

Angelina Jolie: Despite a buxom bustline, Angelina is flat in the back. “She wears butt pads to give her skinny figure some curves, but they show if she wears silk,” says an insider. “Some companies don’t even lend her clothes for events anymore.”

Brad Pitt: “His nickname on the set of Troy was ‘Arm Pitt,’ he stank so bad,” says a source, who also reveals that Brad’s “messy” new look is the result of hours of styling.

Whitney Houston: The 48-year-old diva “must wear a bra at all times,” according to a source. “It’s because her breast implants are like two pencil erasers that point in two different directions.”

Robert Pattinson: He “has fungus feet!” says an insider. “His toenails are all curled up and yellow.”

Jeremy Piven: The five-foot-nine star wears three-inch lifts! “He can normally hide them, but everyone noticed them when he had to take his shoes off at the Soho Beach House spa in Miami Beach,” says a source.

Lindsay Lohan: A stylist tells Star, “It’s a running joke between us that if it isn’t nailed down, she will take it. I’ve seen her take everything from hair products to fur coats.”

Jennifer Aniston: Aniston is all about the hair! “She throws a fit when she thinks certain people mess up her hair,” a stylist tells Star. To make matters worse, Aniston refuses to blow-dry her own hair, says the source. “It’s bizarre and obsessive. She’ll call her hairstylist at all hours just to blow it.” And she recently demanded a cut at 4 a.m.! Adds the source, “It was like a midlife crisis at four in the morning.”

The rest are either budget celebrities that no one cares about, or celebrities that just have deodorant and/or shapewear issues, which… seems pretty normal, I think. Now I can’t stop thinking about Angelina Jolie’s ass of lies (NOOO!) and Robert Pattinson’s sparkly fungus feet and The Piv’s three-inch high heels. Thank you, bitchy, anonymous stylists. This was a good one.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

These photos are from the London premiere

Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart looked solid and very much together during the promotional tour for Breaking Dawn. In fact they happily posed together, smiled and looked at each other more than they have during any other premiere or promotional event for Twilight. Robert even joked that the officiator during their onscreen wedding was a real priest who kept using their real names and that they might be accidentally married. Tabloid stories had Rob smitten with Kristen and hoping she would marry him someday, and that had a ring of truth to it. As Kaiser has mentioned, it’s easy to imagine their dynamic like that: Rob is gaga for Kristen and she’s pretty blase about the whole relationship. Only according to Mike Walker in the National Enquirer, Robert broke up with Kristen right before the big Breaking Dawn LA premiere.

Reports My Twilight Spy: “Just two days after the couple was inducted into Hollywood’s legendary Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, Robert – who’d been having second thoughts about their relationship – hit Kristen with the news that he’s ending it. They kept on smiling at the Los Angeles premiere, but Robert was an emotional wreck – and so was Kristen, who never saw the breakup coming. Explaining his reasoning, Rob told Kristen he adores her, but feels that their romance blossomed only because they’d been thrown together as on-screen lovers for nearly four years. Rob felt it was time to explore other relationships and move on.”

Even though Kristen’s devastated, the source added, she knows they’ve got to put on happy faces to promote “Breaking Dawn” – and the sequel next year.

[From The National Enquirer]

I’m not really buying this, particularly since these two are said to have hung out at the after party for the LA premiere, but it could have happened. Maybe it explains why Kristen was somewhat uncomfortable looking during the LA premiere and was smiling during the London premiere – she’d come to terms with the breakup and was relieved. She’s always been so shy about showing affection toward Robert, but looks more comfortable and buddy-buddy with Taylor. If they broke up and the pressure was off, that could explain it. It’s hard to tell, though. If this really did happen they deserve credit for posing together at two of the premieres and acting like nothing was wrong.

Meanwhile Hollywood Life has some new quotes and a video of Robert being interviewed by German outlet Viva. They ask him about Twilight vs. True Blood and other vampire franchises with more teeth, to use an apt pun. Robert uses the tired Coke and Pepsi metaphor to explain it, saying that Twilight is like Coke and Pepsi was a copy. He said:

It’s like that Coke versus Pepsi thing, and how Coke just said ‘There’s a reason everyone compares themselves to us.’ ‘Twilight’ was the original and everybody’s trying to copy it. They’re all just trying to jump aboard the ‘Twilight’ train!

[via Hollywood Life]

True Blood star Stephen Moyer previously called Pattinson’s character “The diet Coke of Vampires” so who’s copying now? Also, the Southern Vampire Mysteries series, on which True Blood is based, were around way before Twilight and have quite a few similar plot points. Some have accused Twilight author Stephanie Meyer of lifting elements from that earlier series, particularly the whole clairvoyance issue between the protagonist and the love interest vampire. In The Southern Vampire Mysteries, first out in 2001, the lead Sookie Stackhouse is a clairvoyant who is relieved that she can’t read her boyfriend vampire’s thoughts. In Twilight, out in 2005, the vampire boyfriend is relieved that he can’t read the female lead’s thoughts. So I think that comparing Twilight to Diet Coke is more apt, while True Blood is Jack Daniels.

Update: As miagirl points out, Kristen and Robert were out and about in London over the weekend. They went to a show together and were even photographed sort-of embracing. So if they did break up it didn’t last.

These photos are from the London premiere on 11/16, when these two had already supposedly broken up. There are also a couple of cute photos of Robert and Taylor Lautner promoting Breaking Dawn in Berlin on 11/18. Credit: WENN.com

With some movies, reviews just don’t matter. Such was the case for the latest Twilight Saga installment, Breaking Dawn Part I, which received a 29% certified “rotten” score from critics yet nonetheless went on to secure an estimated $139.5 million opening weekend. Even though this result isn’t quite as remarkable as New Moon‘s $142.5 million opener, Summit Entertainment still has absolutely nothing to complain about:

While it wasn’t quite able to reach the series high $139.5 million opening indicated that the sexy teen vampires are as popular as ever. What does appear to have lost some of its appeal, however, is dancing penguins: Happy Feet Two struggled to even open to half as much as its popular 2006 predecessor. Overall box office was up around 20 percent to at least $218 million, and the weekend could wind up ranking as the fifth-highest on record.

Breaking Dawn‘s $139.5 million opening is second-best among Twilight movies behind 2009′s New Moon ($142.7 million). That’s a small gap, though, and Breaking Dawn still managed to claim fifth place on the all-time opening weekend chart behind Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, The Dark Knight, Spider-Man 3 and New Moon. As is typical for the Twilight movies, its weekend was incredibly front-loaded with 51.6 percent of the gross coming from Friday showings (including its $30.25 midnight tally).

The audience was 80 percent female and 60 percent over 21 years old. That’s more female-skewing than Eclipse (65 percent) but even with New Moon (80 percent). Also, the audience was younger for those movies (only 50 percent over 21 years old), though it’s logical for the crowd to age along with the series. Breaking Dawn received a “B+” CinemaScore, which improved to an “A-” among females.

Happy Feet Two debuted to an estimated $22 million, or just over half as much as the $41.5 million that the first Happy Feet opened to on the same weekend in 2006.CinemaScore.

[From Box Office Mojo]

Score one for Summit’s marketing team, which clearly embraced the balls-out absurdity of Stephenie Meyer’s fourth book. From the very first movie still, which featured the tell-tale after effects of Edward Cullen’s pillowbiting frenzy, the entire promotional scheme for this movie highlighted the main question that the Twihards were dying to know — how could anyone possibly translate all of the book’s ridiculous happenings into a watchable, PG-13 movie? Of course, I’ll issue a mild SPOILER ALERT while also suggesting that all interested parties review the film’s theatrical trailer:

See? The trailer embraces the pure camp of the book (and series) by kicking things off with the long-suffering Jacob ripping off his shirt and wolfing out while his poor father heads out after him in the pouring rain. Jacob, of course, was in agony because Bella was marrying Edward, but all fans of the book realize that Jacob later imprints on a baby. Naturally, a lot of people (myself included) were very interested to see how director Bill Condon could possibly interpret that jacked-up moment on film as well as the notorious birth scene. This is not to mention the headboard-crushing moment when an 117-year-old vampire has sex for the very first time, which is also prominently featured within the trailer as well. Brilliant marketing, indeed. So yes, Breaking Dawn Part I achieved a very well-deserved victory this weekend at least from a promotional standpoint.

Also, I kind of love this unintentionally hilarious still of Kellan Lutz carrying the trunk of a redwood tree in manner of Arnold Schwarzenegger in Commando. You just know that the Lutz is carrying a big hunk of plastic:

Photos courtesy of AllMoviePhoto