Its smiles all around at E1 Films, where the success of Twilight ‘pleasantly’ exceeded expectations, according to a company spokesperson, while the Toronto distributor confirmed it has retained the Canadian rights for the sequel to the teen vampire romance.

Moreover, E1 stands to cash in through Twilight‘s Dec. 19 release in the U.K., where it holds the rights through its London-based subsidiary Contender Films, which E1 acquired last year.

The film, based on the popular novel by Stephenie Meyer, rang in $5.6 million on 495 screens at the Canuck box office over the weekend through E1’s Seville Pictures.

‘We are elated with this weekend’s performance. Further, Twilight exit poll numbers indicate well-above-average ratings and recommend scores, and the result is repeat viewings,’ E1 Films co-president Bryan Gliserman tells Playback Daily.

The film was expected to do business in the $40-million to $50-million range in North America, though its brisk advance sales and fanatic teen and ‘Twilight Mom’ following pushed its three-day totals over the $70-million mark. Summit Entertainment handles the U.S. release. The film follows the dangerously intimate relationship between a high school student and a vampire, and stars Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart.

Production is moving forward on New Moon, the second novel in the series.