{babes} Eclipse Eclipses Everything-Except.

Taylor Lautner, Kristen Stewart, Eclipse

A record-setting midnight can't be wrong: Eclipse made a whole lot of money yesterday.

The third Twilight film grossed an estimated $68.5 million, besting the opening-day mark of every movie ever released—except New Moon.

To one box-office analyst, there's no mystery in why Eclipse was unable to eclipse its elder sibling.

"Honestly," Exhibitor Relations' Jeff Bock said today, "the only reason is that it [Eclipse] opened on a Wednesday instead of a Friday [like New Moon]."

The quirks of the calendar did not prevent Eclipse from setting a couple of new records: The movie is now the biggest Wednesday grosser ever, topping Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen, and, more impressive, the biggest single summer day grosser ever, beating the box-office's still-ultimate summer movie, The Dark Knight.

Eclipse's dual single-day and opening-day mark is the new No. 2 of all-time, behind New Moon's ultimate $72.7 million haul. And, of course, Eclipse owns the midnight record, with nearly half of its Wednesday take, some $30 million, coming from night-owl screenings.

Reputedly produced for just under $70 million, Eclipse should top $100 million overall today. By the end of Sunday, it could have anywhere from $160 million to $175 million or more in the domestic bank.

Said Bock: "That's box-office bite like we've never seen before."