'Breaking Dawn' nabs $30.3 mil at midnight

'Twilight: Breaking Dawn -- Part 1' got off to a franchise-best start, grossing $30.3 million in midnight grosses."Twilight" fans nationwide turned out in droves Thursday night for the franchise's latest offering, "Breaking Dawn -- Part 1," shelling out a series-best $30.3 million in midnight grosses.Summit's penultimate "Twilight" installment, at 3,521 late-night U.S. engagements, narrowly beat its predecessor "Eclipse," which tallied $30 million last year at midnight screenings.Late-night take bodes well for the newest "Twilight" pic's weekend perf, as it looks to tally somewhere between $140 million and $150 million, according to the most optimistic pre-weekend tracking services. Though "Eclipse" bowed midweek last summer -- a heightened play period for teen and tween auds -- to nearly $158 million in its first six days, 2009's "New Moon" tallied $26.3 million in midnights and went on to gross $143 million opening weekend (the same weekend as "Breaking Dawn").Warner Bros.' "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2" still holds the all-time record for midnight grosses at $43.5 million."Breaking Dawn" expands today to a total 4,061 Stateside locations, with an additional 54 overseas territories bowing the pic day-and-date this weekend via local distribs. Contact Andrew Stewart at andrew.stewart@variety.com