Summit Entertainment

It was big. It was bigger than expected. It was record-setting. But more on the new Sandra Bullock movie later.

New Moon will close out its remarkable debut weekend with an estimated $140.7 million, its studio reported today. 

"I dare say in all the office pools, I don't think anyone had near this top gross," Summit Entertainment distribution president Richie Fay said.

The towering take makes the Twilight sequel the third-biggest opener in Hollywood history. Or, to put it in a way that will appease vampire-dismissing superhero boosters: Yes, The Dark Knight's opening-weekend mark is safe; and, yes, Spider-Man 3's second-place slot is secure.

But, get over your spandex-supporting selves because New Moon sucked up its own share of records:

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Summit Entertainment

As a PG-rated Robin might cry, "Holy crap, Batman!"

New Moon smashed The Dark Knight's single-day and opening-day box-office records with an estimated $72.7 million Friday, its studio reported today.

If the movie's unprecedented midnight business was "absolutely freakish," then its unprecedented full-day take was simply phenomenal.

"It doubled the opening day of the first movie—and Twilight was no slouch itself," Box Office Mojo's Brandon Gray said. "It's just sensational."

With New Moon having already eclipsed its $50 million budget, two of Dark Knight's showiest records, and Twilight's entire opening-weekend gross, about the only question left is: How big can this thing get?

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Summit Entertainment

What else is there to say about New Moon that hasn't already been gushed? That the sequel to you-know-what starring you-know-who and -who and -who grossed a record-setting, undead-enlivening, "absolutely freakish" $26.3 million in Friday midnight screenings?

Well, there's that.

Yes, New Moon usurped the midnight crown from Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince ($22.2 million), which ousted The Dark Knight ($18.5 million) this past July. Nudge the person in the theater next to you, and pass it on.

How do we know you're reading this on a handheld at a multiplex? Because chances are you are.

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Michael Loccisano/Getty Images

It is time to get off Carrie Prejean's back about her chest. The woman is correct. The Bible absolutely, positively does not say, "You shouldn't get breast implants." In those exact words.

We have reached this conclusion after seeking counsel and revving up the search engine at BibleGateway.com.

We are sorry we didn't take Prejean's word from the get-go. It just sounded like a rationalization from a beauty queen turned inspirational memoirist. But a little bit of faith would've saved us time, not to mention the embarrassment of having to ask students of the Bible for their thoughts on—how should we say?—pageant helpers.

Our findings—and, yes, our defense of Ms. Prejean—are as follows: 

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Summit Entertainment

Twilight was huge. New Moon will be huger.

Um, won't it?

Sure, go ahead, and call it now. You won't be disappointed. (Unless you were seriously expecting Teams Edward and Jacob to sink Titanic.)

Projections have New Moon, rising in theaters midnight Thursday—following the one-night-only theatrical return of Twilight—grossing anywhere in the Forks, Wash., neighborhood of $80 million to $100 million by the close of Sunday, and maybe $200 million-plus when all is said and done and swooned over.

On either the high or "low" end, the presumed opening-weekend take would put the sequel in elite company, and leave the franchise with nothing to fear—except perhaps its own hot, media-dominating self.

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ABC; ABC/Donna Svennevik

Sarah Palin's poll numbers are through the roof.

Monday's Oprah Winfrey Show, featuring the first stop on Palin's Going Rogue book tour, scored the daytime talk show's highest ratings in two years, reports said. 

And yes, that means Palin outdrew the chimp-attack victim, Mackenzie Phillips' shocking daddy disclosure,  and Ellen DeGeneres' wedding video, to name three recent high-profile Oprah Winfrey gets.

Never underestimate the appeal of a pistol-packin' former vice presidential candidate with Levi Johnston problems, apparently.

Elsewhere in TV-ratings land, Heather Locklear saved Melrose Place last night. Well, sort of.

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Why should Larry King have walked out on Carrie Prejean? Did Gossip Girl's threesome radiate an afterglow? And what did Craig Ferguson do that Craig Ferguson had never done before?

The answers—and more questions—in the latest TV ratings quiz:

1. Whom did viewers find more "inappropriate," Carrie Prejean or Larry King? Judging by the numbers, Prejean. Wednesday's Larry King Live, featuring Prejean (and to be fair, other guests, as well), was the CNN show's second-least-watched episode of the week, averaging only 633,000, or a fraction of what clips of the Prejean-King dustup scored on YouTube.

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Sony Pictures

The world may live to see 2013, after all.

The apocalyptic-minded 2012 started off with a $65 million box office bang, per estimates, beating projections and the weekend competition. 

Elsewhere, bigger wasn't always better—or bigger. In limited release, the potential Oscar heavyweight Precious continued to loom incredibly large ($6.1 million at only 174 theaters), while Wes Anderson's Fantastic Mr. Fox  enjoyed a fantastic debut ($260,000 at four theaters). 

Taking a look inside the numbers:

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Kimberley French/Summit Entertainment

We are not prudes. We are simply scared shirtless.

With every new still of Taylor Lautner and his tersely torsoed Twilight-affiliated wolf pack, we grow concerned that our nation's impressionable young men are taking notes—and thinking about taking off their T-shirts.

What's the problem with New Moonings, you ask? Why can't guys go wild like a Joe Francis DVD? What's the downside?

Oh, nothing. Nothing at all. Except all sorts of terrible things, up to and including economic ruin and wrinkles. And not necessarily in that order.

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Frank Micelotta/Getty Images

At first glance, it sure looked like Glee's Rachel and Kurt picked the wrong night to do a diva-off against Taylor Swift.

Just days after Swift led Saturday Night Live to its best ratings of the season, the singing sensation helped the Country Music Association Awards to its biggest audience in four years.

The ABC telecast, featuring big wins by Swift, Swift, Swift and Swift, averaged nearly 17 million viewers, easily winning Wednesday's prime-time race.

So, was it curtains for Glee, after all?

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AP Photo/Denis Poroy

There's something about Carrie Prejean that makes us suspicious.

Much as her book-flap copy might like to believe, our eyebrows are not cocked because of the former pageant queen's beliefs. Look, Sarah Palin's an acquired taste, too, but we're not driven to concoct wild theories about why she's doing Oprah next week. (In that case, we'd only be suspicious if Palin didn't do Oprah.) 

So, no, it's not Prejean's ideas that make us think she's up to something. It's her timing.

As in, can you believe her sex-tape scandal broke four days before her book-flap copy—and the rest of the tome—was published?

We can't.

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Giovanni Rufino/ The CW

How many people had their Lizzie Maguire memories destroyed by Gossip Girl last night? How bad did Rihanna's interview show up Chris Brown's? And why would Saturday Night Live never dream of pulling a Kanye West on Taylor Swift?

The answers—and more questions (about Mad Men, Kate Gosselin and more)—in this week's TV ratings quiz:

1. So, was that threesome good for Gossip Girl? It wasn't bad, especially considering the event was nothing more explicit than three people (Penn Badgley, Jessica Szhor and Disney grad Hilary Duff) not kissing at the same time. The series was up 20 percent from last week: 2.4 million viewers versus 1.95 million, per Nielsen stats. The math worked out even better for the CW: It enjoyed its most-watched Monday of the season.

2. What were the two most surprising things about the episode? One, the show lost viewers in its threesome-boasting final half-hour; two, teenage boys chose to watch The Big Bang Theory instead. (The show did best, per usual, among young adult women.)

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