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USA TODAY: ‘NEW MOON’ HAS THIRD-LARGEST FILM DEBUT

Posted November 22nd, 2009 By: Evie 13 Comments »

According to USA Today, New Moon will have the third-largest film debut in history according to studio estimates from Nielsen EDI. They are estimating New Moon to have an opening weekend of $140.7 million dollars, third only to Dark Knight an Spider-Man 3. Read more below:

The Twilight Saga: New Moon notched the third-largest debut on record this weekend, taking in $140.7 million, according to studio estimates from Nielsen EDI.

The latest chapter of the vampire saga, which has made pinup stars of its actors Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner, is behind only The Dark Knight’s $158.4 million and Spider-Man 3′s $151.1 million.

From its midnight Thursday opening, Moon was headed for the record books. The film did $26.3 million in midnight screenings, shattering the record of $18.5 million held by Knight.

By midnight Friday, Moon had broken the single-day record with $72.7 million, again eclipsing Knight with $67.2 million.

The movie did another $118.1 million overseas.

While the Twilight films have never wowed critics – just 29% of reviewers recommended Moon, according to RottenTomatoes.com – the franchise has been critic-proof, particularly among women, who made up 80% of the audience.

Moon and the other Twilight film, and books by Stephenie Meyer, have enjoyed a rare fan base of females ranging from pre-teens to grandmothers. And teen boys, who have been turning out for werewolves and vampires since Abbott met Costello, made up most of the other moviegoers.

“There’s something wholesome in these movies that is getting mothers to take their daughters with them,” says Richie Fay, distribution chief of Summit Entertainment, which released Moon. “Or maybe it’s the other way around.”

The next film, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, arrives in theaters June 20. Fay says that while there is no agreement yet to produce the fourth adaptation, Breaking Dawn, “we’re working very closely with Meyer” on closing the deal.

The only question now is how high Moon rises. Twilight did $193 million in North America, a mark Moon should shatter even with the typical dropoffs weekend to weekend.

Read more here.

While I’m still hoping for a way to break Dark Knight’s record, $140.7 million is nothing to sniff at! And next weekend being a holiday here should only help the total numbers.

Did you think New Moon could do this well?







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  • Jennie

    I am disappointed =(
    How could New Moon nottt beat Spiderman 3!! I mean, The Dark Knight.. ok but Spiderman?? Come on people. I’ve watched the movie twice in theaters and I really enjoyed it the second time around. So much fuss about New Moon and the “crazy fans”, I don’t think it shows.
    2nd and last thing. TWILIGHT SUCKED pretty bad compared to New Moon.. sooo what’s going on? I was expecting something like 300 mil for this one.
    Just disappointing for me..
    Love New Moon. Love how much the cast has grown in their acting.

  • Ashlie

    wait..wait! the weekend is not even over yet!! if new moon did 72 million dollars in the opening day… I betcha when Sunday is over, it will probably top over spiderman 3 and dark night!!

  • meg

    Jennie, I think it’s physically impossible for a movie to gross $300 millon in one weekend! That would be a miracle lol, but it could definitely gross $300 million in North America by the time it is out of theaters.

    It is true that Twilight sucked horribly compared to New Moon but New Moon did make twice as much as Twilight opening weekend.

    It’s so amazing it made this much money!! When most thought it would be around $80 million….you can’t underestimate Twilight lol!

  • Yuushii

    I’ve been to see the movie 4 times since the 12:01am showing on Thursday night. Listening to other groups of friends who have not seen the movie is that they are waiting for the ‘pandemonium’ to die down. I think that by Friday morning of the coming week – New Moon will shatter all records for the first 7 days. By the time the DVD is released, New Moon should easily break all previous sales figures – it is a far better film than Twilight.

    I had to drag my hubby to the theater last night – his consensus is that alot of guys that liked Twilight will be put off by the depressing nature of New Moon – he fell asleep during the Victoria/Harry Clearwater woods scene – but he’s looking forward to seeing Eclipse alot more. Eclipse could possibly even blow New Moon out of the water.

    I’m hopeful. This means that Summit cannot deny the fans the experience of seeing Breaking Dawn on the big screen.

  • Jennie

    I just really really hope Breaking Dawn makes it to theaters. I don’t care if it’s one, two, or three parts.
    But I guess it’s true though. The weekend is not over yet… I’m keeping hopes up and wait till Monday for a better view of the gross. With the success of New Moon and upcoming Eclipse there’s high hopes for Breaking Dawn right?

  • melissa

    I have only seen the movie once, but plan on seeing it again. I loved it and thought i was so much better than Twilight! Chris did an amazing job, and i’m glad that he’s being rewarded by an awesome openining weekend, lets bring him back for breaking dawn. either him or someone who can make the movies better then they are now. i’m very excited to see Eclipse in june, the theater i went to already had a poster up for it :)

  • willjam

    New Moon is definately a better film than Twilight. I LOVE IT and have seen it twice this weekend. I really hope that we are not denied the movie version of Breaking Dawn. The support is behind it so why is it even a question?

  • jim

    You have to also realize that this is a non-holiday/non-summer opening. Spiderman3 & Dark Knight both were released in the summer.

    Most everyone who saw the film this weekend was an adult. The younger fans probably won’t see it until this coming week because they’re off of school and parents are waiting for the theaters to thin out.

    140 million dollar opening weekend for a non-summer flick? Completely amazing. I’ve been running my theater for 3 years now, this just blew my mind. It felt like a huge July weekend with 3 big movies opening instead of just a fall weekend. This is usually our slow season until Thanksgiving and it picks up until after Christmas. Then you get the Oscar buzzworthy movies opening.

    I’m really shocked about the opening day totals more so than the opening weekend totals.

    And Eclipse is opening the last weekend in June? Smart marketing move. Kids are all out of school…the summer has started…it’ll blow New Moon out of the water as well.

  • New Moon

    I wonder how this film will do in week 2. Will all the people who were running over themselves to see it on opening day came back for repeat viewings?

  • Mrs. Edward Cullen

    All I can say is that mys sister and I have done our part to help make New Moon Successful! We’ve seen the movie 4 times since Thursdays midnight premiere.
    I spent a lot of $$$ this past weekend and yet I still plan on going back to see it again. I LOVED the movie and i can’t wait for Eclipse now. And I hope that Breaking Dawn gets it chance to shine as well.
    These movies are such great exposure for the actors involved and I hope it opens more doors for them they deserve it for helping to bring Stephenie’s characters to life so well… I love the Twilight Saga!!

  • christina

    I’m so proud of this movie, and for a non summer opening its amazing! I can’t wait til Eclipse and breaking dawn! Hopefully breaking dawn. It was my fave book, but it is sooo long you couldn’t possibly fit it all into one movie….!!!! Now I hope New Moon beats spider man 3 :)

  • newborn1863

    These numbers do not surprise me at all! This is the largest fan base since,,I dont know when,,,They are negotiating w/ S.Meyer on bringing BD to the big screen,?,what happened,is she holding out for bigger bucks?? lol…she’s gone Hollywood on us =)

  • Mrs. Cullen/Blace(Team Switzerland)

    OK I’VE SEEN NEW MOON 3 TYMEZ SO FAR.. I JST LOVE THE MOVIE IM GOING TO GO C IT AGAIN SOON..LOL.. I THINK NEW MOON WILL SHATTER SOME MORE RECORDZ BY THE TYME IT LEAVES THE THEATERZ.. ALSO I REALLY HOPE THEY FILM BREAKING DAWN BECAUSE THAT IS MY FAV BOOK IN THE SERIES BECAUSE OF RENESMEE!! AND EVEN THO SHELL BE A COMPUTER GENERATED KID I STILL WANNA C HER!!! I DNT CARE IF ITS 1 OR 2 MOVIEZ AS LONG AS THEY FILM IT N DO A GREAT JOB!! SO HOPEFULLY BY THE TIME NEW MOON IZ OUT OF THEATERZ IT WILL BE SOME WORD OR IF NOT MAYB AFTER DVD’Z HIT THE SHELVEZ IT WILL BE SOME INFO ON IT… GO TEAM SWITZ!!!!

 

 

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