No one expected “The Twilight Saga: New Moon” to disappoint at the box office, but even Summit Entertainment has to be surprised by the massive opening the sequel garnered from midnight shows across the country.  Distributors are still submitting their grosses but sources tell HitFix “New Moon” has set a new record and may have made as much as $25 million from its midnight launch.

To compare, previous record holder “The Dark Knight” made $18.4 million in over 3,000 theaters, but some of those screens were of the IMAX variety which charge higher ticket prices thereby inflating the overall gross.  Not jumping on the IMAX bandwagon (so far), only makes “New Moon’s” gross even more remarkable.

Opening in 3,514 theaters, “New Moon” could also challenge “Dark Knight’s” single day gross of $67 million, but that seems a tad unlikely based on a predominantly female only fan base.  As for the weekend, the first “Twilight” dropped 49% from Friday to Saturday and the sequel is expected to find a similar drop.  On the other hand, “Dark Knight” dropped only 29% over that span.  Therefore, breaking the acclaimed thriller’s opening weekend gross record of $158.4 million has to be out of reach, but surpassing this year’s champ, “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” with $108 million, is entirely possible (at the moment at least).

Shocker?  Not to the Twilight fans.  $25 million at the midnight launch!  That would be amazing.  I know I’m seeing New Moon again tonight and Sunday. 

How many times will you see New Moon this weekend?  Can we beat Dark Knight’s $158.4 million opening weekend gross?

[Source: HitFix.  Thanks Morgan!]

UPDATE!  IT’S OFFICIAL!!  Summit Entertainment released that New Moon had the biggest midnight opening of all time ranking in $26.27 million!! 

[Source: Popsugar]

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 15 /PRNewswire/ — With five more days before its November 20 release date, New Moon has already leaped over previous record-holders to become the top-selling pre-release title in Fandango’s ten-year history. The new record for Fandango’s fastest-selling film was set on Saturday night, November 14, shortly after 8:00 p.m.

The Top 5 Advance Ticket-Sellers on Fandango (as of November 15, 2009) are now as follows:

1. New Moon (2009)
2. Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005)
3. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009)
4. The Dark Knight (2008)
5. Twilight (2008)

Not overly shocked though! I can’t wait to see the numbers New Moon brings in over its first weekend in theaters. And maybe some announcements that may come after

You can read the rest of the article here!

[Thanks, IndiesR!]

It’s a New Moon at Burger King!  We previously posted the Burger King trading cards and CROWNS  from Comic Con.   Well, now there’s more!! Burger King has exclusive New Moon fan pack, New Moon BK® Crown Cards, and….wait for it…wait for it…..TEAM EDWARD & TEAM JACOB WATER BOTTLES!! 

Purchase a 6-pack BK BURGER SHOTS® Value Meal and get a fan pack with New Moon collectible cards and exclusive offers for special New Moon  merchandise!  The value meal offer will be available November 16th at participating Burger King restaurants!

The water bottles are NOT available in the Burger King restaurants and sold ONLINE ONLY while supplies last.  You can order your Team Edward or Team Jacob water bottle here NOW!

EDIT:  The New Moon BK® Crown Cards are only available in the U.S. and online.  It’s a Burger King gift card, but online in U.S. dollar amounts from $5 to $100.  Sorry for my non U.S. resident friends.    You can order your New Moon BK® Crown Cards here!

Oh yes.  The family will have Burger King almost every night that week.    And I am soooooooo getting that Team Edward water bottle.   A tall drink of Edward will hit the spot. 

[Source: Burger King. Thanks Ally!]

Last week, we teamed with Fandango to survey 1,457 Twilighters who had purchased tickets to “New Moon” through their service. Much like a poll in mid-October, the results are as illuminating as Edward Cullen stepping into the Italian sunlight. Here are five of the most interesting tidbits and trends.

Alice in Wonderland
Wow, Twilighters love Ashley Greene — you really love her! Proving that she’s come a long way since fans complained she was too tall for the part, Ashley won three key questions:

Q: Which “Twilight” actor is closest to the way you imagined the character when you read Stephenie Meyer’s novels? (Ashley received 47 percent.)

Q: Which “Twilight Saga” actress is the best-looking? (Ashley received 41 percent.)

Q: Which secondary “Twilight” character would you most like to see in their own spin-off movie? (Ashley’s Alice received 57 percent.)

With such overwhelming results, it sounds like Greene has won over fans and has come to embody Alice in their minds. And although a spin-off movie may be a long way off, Twilighters will undoubtedly be pleased with her expanded “New Moon” screen time.

Breaking Down “Breaking Dawn”
It’s the question on everyone’s lips these days: Who should direct the final “Twilight” movie? Out of the three series directors — Catherine Hardwicke, Chris Weitz and David Slade — Twilighters overwhelmingly want Weitz:

Q: Which of these directors would you most like to see return for “Breaking Dawn”? (Chris Weitz received 57 percent.)

“Oh, that’s sweet,” Weitz grinned when we told him about the results. “Those are Obama-like numbers! I’d say to them thank you very much, but wait until you see the movie. They’re just going on the trailers. And, of course, no one has seen David Slade’s ‘Eclipse,’ so they can’t judge fairly based on that. I’m the flavor of the month.”

Interesting notes: Forty-seven percent of fans are more excited to see “Breaking Dawn” than either “New Moon” or “Eclipse.” They are split on the topic of separating “BD” into two movies, however, with 47 percent wanting to enjoy the final flick “Harry Potter”-style, and 53 percent saying it should be only one film.

I’m going nuts just waiting for Breaking Dawn news.  To view the rest of the awesome results head over to MTV.com

(Thanks Aleksandra!)

Collider: What can we expect on the New Moon DVD?

Chris Weitz: On the DVD there will be some deleted scenes, there will be a commentary with me and I think Kristen, Rob and Taylor at the same time, and some making of and behind the scenes type stuff.

My big question is how many minutes of deleted scenes?

Weitz: I think it’s around twenty.

Is there really going to be that many minutes?

Weitz: Yeah, but sometimes it’s just showing a whole scene with bits that have been cut out. There is not like twenty minutes of stuff thrown out.  It’s like here is the fully expanded scene.

Here’s my question….the Twilight fans are obsessed with seeing stuff they haven’t seen before. So how many minutes do you think of footage that’s not in the theater would be on the DVD/Blu-ray?

Weitz: I’d say a good ten minutes of groovy stuff they haven’t seen.

So why did you cut it?

Weitz: The running time of the film and the cadence of how I wanted the film to play.

New Moon hasn’t even hit theaters yet and already we are getting information about the DVD. They really do want to drive us all nuts don’t they! LOL Can’t wait to see the extra footage!

In fact, you can already check out the Pre-Order pages on Amazon for the DVD and Blu-Ray editions!

[Thanks, NTJB, and MCNutters!]

In the video they show the behind the scenes with Bella and Jacob (when she finds out he is a wolf), Bella’s birthday party, and Edward’s fight with Felix.

I can honestly say I teared up during the behind the scenes for the birthday party. The very last part – Edward standing there all by himself, you can tell he is breaking inside. He’s made his choice. He is leaving. *cries*

The video is definitely awesome and worth watching!

UPDATE: Check out the AWESOME screen caps from the above video after the break!

The below pic is JUST for TeamSpaceHeaters!!


You can view the rest of the awesome screen caps over at ThinkingofRob.wordpress.com!

[Thanks to everyone who sent the video in!]

The wonderful folks over at Torrid are holding an oober terrific contest! The ultimate fan experience. One lucky winner will fly to Forks, Washington & enjoy a full tour of the most popular town in america!

 Also if you purchase any merchandise from Torrid, you are automatically entered into a daily drawing to win movie tickets for The Twilight Saga: NewMoon in your area …sweet!

To enter the contest & get further details visit Torrid.com 

For those who aren’t familiar with Torrid, they are a part of Hot Topic, anything you want from HT you can get from Torrid but from a girly aspect, these 2 are some of my favorite stores!  Now scram, hurry and get your entries in, the contest expires November 15th.

2,500 recent “New Moon” ticket-buyers surveyed, an astounding 96 percent had read the novel — and 94 percent had read the entire series. But the tale gets even more interesting when you realize that 68 percent of the ticket-buyers weren’t aware of the “Twilight” franchise until the first film was released in November 2008. So, in essence, only 32 percent of the fans who have bought “New Moon” tickets have been “Twilight” fans for longer than 12 months.The next question on the survey (which would pop up after a fan purchased a “New Moon” ticket on Fandango) revolved around series newcomer Chris Weitz, who initially faced harsh criticism from the fanbase when he was chosen to replace “Twilight” director Catherine Hardwicke. Asked if they had faith the “Golden Compass” filmmaker would do a good job with “New Moon,” 95 percent of Twilighters answered positively.

A big part of that turnaround, it would seem, is the commonly held belief among Twilighters that Weitz will do a better job with the action scenes than his predecessor would have. Indeed, 93 percent of all buyers had watched the “New Moon” trailers online, with 77 percent saying the action scenes were a main draw and 98 percent (!) saying the action glimpsed in “New Moon” looked better than “Twilight.”

Fifty-three percent of Twilighters surveyed plan to see the first “New Moon” show at midnight; 26 percent will see it at a different time opening day; and 21 percent will see it during opening week or thereafter. Out of that crowd, 79 percent are making plans to bring three or more friends.

Lastly, Fandango even has stats on the Team Edward vs. Team Jacob rivalry — and, well, it’s not looking pretty for Taylor Lautner. Although “New Moon” will feature far more screen time for Jacob Black, only 17 percent of ticket-buyers said they’d choose him, while 83 percent are Team Edward.

“I’m personally bummed that Jacob doesn’t get more respect from the fans,” Medved laughed. “He’s a nice guy, and he deserves better.”

You can check out the rest of the article over at MTV!

[Thanks, SnowyHedwig!]

Looks pretty forkin’ awesome! You’ll be able to see the whole clip this Thursday on Access Hollywood!

[Thanks, BellaCullen13, Kierstyn, realmenglitter (so true!!), bam6am88, Aleksandra, Tia, and JayPat!]

The wolves look great! Much better then what they looked like in previous trailers! Jacob Wolf made the hair stand up on my arms!

I don’t know about all of you, but I am SUPER giddy and excited today! Not only was I finally able to pick up my copy of the New Moon Soundtrack (it was just released in Canada today) but today is October 20th!! One month before New Moon opens! (Unless you are in selected areas, that get it earlier!). Squeeee!

4 weeks to go guys! What are you going to wear to the movie? How early are you going to go and wait in line? I’d tell you how early I’m going but you may laugh!

UPDATE:Check out PopSugarRush’s HD version of the newly released mini trailer including some New Moon stills … After the break!



[Thank you to everyone who sent this in!]