Summit EntertainmentWhat 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.
A Fandango poll of New Moon advance-ticket buyers showed 39 percent intended to play hooky from school or work today in order to help Bella get through her really bad vampire breakup. (E! Entertainment and Fandango are both owned by Comcast.)
Here are some more details to get you through the commercials and trailers:
• New Moon's well on its way to blowing away Twilight's opening-day take of $36 million. That is, if it hasn't already bested the original already.
• Last night's one-night-only, one-screening-time-only Twilight reissue grossed $1.3 million, Summit Entertainment reported. That's more than Jim Carrey's A Christmas Carol made all of Wednesday.
• Yes, New Moon beat The Dark Knight at midnight, but it has no shot of beating The Dark Knight's opening-weekend record...or does it? "This caliber of midnight opening is absolutely freakish," says Exhibitor Relations box-office analyst Jeff Bock. "If Twi-hards can keep up the momentum over the weekend, Batman may be in trouble."
That said, Exhibitor Relations is now projecting a $125 million-$130 million weekend. That would put New Moon fourth on the all-time list, behind only Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, Spider-Man 3 and, yes, The Dark Knight.
(Originally published Nov. 20, 2009, at 10:59 a.m. PT)