Closing the box office with $139.5 million opening weekend, “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 1” is nothing if not profitable. But is the movie really worth a $10-plus trip to the theater? Or can it wait for Netflix?

For those of you who have been living under a rock, this fourth installment of the “Twilight” series centers around 19-year-old Bella’s marriage to a teen vampire, Edward. Edward’s secret identity is complicated enough for Bella to conceal from her family, but add in the fact that her best friend Jacob is a werewolf, and therefore Edward’s enemy, and the whole thing becomes even more complicated.

On the eve of Thursday, Nov. 17, “Twi-hards” filled Carmike Cinema in anticipation of the 12 a.m. premiere. As the hour grew closer to midnight, UNCW students flocked to the theater, anxious to take advantage of the student discount the theater offers.

The lobby was crowded with tween fans in “Team Edward” t-shirts, supporting heartthrob Robert Pattinson’s vampire character. Many college-aged guys—presumably dragged there by girlfriends, or eager for an excuse to make fun of more serious fans—took advantage of the opportunity to create their own “Team” costumes.

Some poked fun at Pattinson’s role by wearing homemade “Team Cedric” costumes, evocative of Pattinson’s “Harry Potter” character. Another made a t-shirt that simply stated, “Team FML.” The most memorable was one UNCW student’s support for “Team Jacob.” Taking Taylor Lautner’s personage to heart, the student dressed himself in brown fur and painted his face to resemble a werewolf.

Unfortunately for those expecting an amazing cinematic experience, most of the excitement occurred in the lobby before the show began.

But who really goes to see “Twilight” for the movie? After four films, those of us still paying to see a less-than-heroic female character like Bella Swan fight off death for the umpteenth time are not really going because we think we will be forever changed by her love for a sparkling undead teenager.

Most of us are going for a laugh.

Who can forget Robert Pattinson’s constipated look when he stared at Bella Swan their first day in biology together? And who can argue that Kristen Stewart has no range of emotion? Go see “Breaking Dawn.” I still don’t know if she was disgusted, frightened, nervous, excited or thinking about Jacob Black as she walked down the aisle to get married to Edward. Mostly, she just looked in pain.

Another moment to look out for is an animated scene one would expect straight from a Disney movie. Jacob and his werewolf brothers are arguing—as wolves. The audience sees a bunch of computer-generated beasts snarling at each other while they listen to the wolves conversation via telecommunication. Extremely weird.

But dedicated fans will overlook the bad acting we have come to expect for the “Twilight” series. It’s not about the acting. It’s about the story.

This movie is the climax of the entire series. Those who read the books couldn’t wait to see Edward and Bella’s marriage come to life on the big screen. Despite Bella’s weird facial expressions, the wedding really was beautiful. Also, everyone has been waiting for Edward and Bella to finally consummate their relationship. Their honeymoon scenes are appropriately touching, beautiful, and as silly as expected.

Short of spoiling the ending, it should be noted that as the movie goes on, it gets better. Kristen Stewart plays a conflicted Bella extremely well, and the special effects are straight out of a horror movie, making them all the more lifelike.

So if anything, the wedding scene, the honeymoon, and the second half are really what made the movie. Like anything else, the bad is definitely worth waiting through to get to the good

Since the release of the first film adaptation of Stephenie Meyer’s vampire teen romance novel, “Twilight” (2008), the hype surrounding the franchise has produced an American female following rivaling that of “Harry Potter.” But how can a movie that one Rotten Tomatoes critic commented is “slow, joyless, and loaded with unintentionally humorous moments,” become number one at the box office?

Simple. Dedicated fans.

Luckily for Meyer and Summit Entertainment, there are enough fans—ranging from Twilight Barbie-collecting tweens to soccer moms hot for werewolves in jorts—that bad acting has not caused any problems at the box office. If anything, fans will continue coming back for the action, the love, and of course, for the laughs.