The vampire romance "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" sucked up $140.7 million in its first three days and pulled in a total of $258.8 million worldwide, according to studio estimates Sunday.
The No. 1 domestic debut for Summit Entertainment's "New Moon" was more than twice the $69.6 million haul over the same weekend last year for "Twilight," the first in the
franchise
based on Stephenie Meyer's novels.
"Obviously, with the success of 'Twilight' itself, sequels being what they are will generate X-number of dollars more, particularly if it's a satisfying sequel," said Richie Fay, head of distribution for Summit.
"New Moon" placed third on the all-time domestic chart behind last year's $158.4 million opening weekend for the Batman
blockbuster
"
The Dark Knight
" and 2007's $151.1 million haul for "Spider-Man 3."
Among the top-10 all-time openings, "New Moon" is the only one that came outside of Hollywood's busiest time, the summer season. The movie adaptation of Meyer's next "Twilight" chapter, "Eclipse," arrives in the heart of summer, next June 30.
On Friday, "New Moon" set an all-time domestic high for opening day with $72.7 million, topping the previous record of $67.2 million by last year's "The Dark Knight".
Overall, Hollywood had its second-biggest non-holiday weekend ever, with final numbers expected to come in slightly behind the $260 million the industry rang up over the weekend of July 18, 2008, when "The Dark Knight" opened.
Compared to the same weekend last year, business was up 59 percent.
Overseas, "New Moon" debuted in 25 countries and took in $118.1 million.
"New Moon" continues the story of teen romance between a school girl and a vampire (Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson), with the sequel adding a love triangle with a
werewolf
(Taylor Lautner).
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据发行公司上周日的票房统计，吸血鬼爱情题材
电影
《暮光之城：新月》上映头三天在北美创下1.407亿美元的票房佳绩，在全球狂揽2.588亿美元。
由顶峰娱乐公司出品的《暮光之城：新月》不仅创下首映日国内最高票房纪录，而且其首映周末票房比去年同期上映的
《暮光之城》
翻了一倍多，当时的票房为6960万美元。《暮光之城》是根据斯蒂芬妮•梅尔所著的同名小说改编而成的系列电影的第一部。
顶峰娱乐公司的发行总监里奇•费说：“很明显，由于《暮光之城》的成功，其续集一定会大赚，如果拍得不错更是如此。”
在国内历史周末票房排行榜上，《新月》位居第三，仅次于蝙蝠侠系列电影《黑夜骑士》和2007年的影片《蜘蛛侠3》之后，这两部影片的首映周末票房分别为1.584亿美元和1.511亿美元。
在历年的十大首映影片中，《新月》是唯一一部在夏季黄金档期之外上映的影片。根据梅尔所著同名小说的下一部《月食》所改编的《暮光之城3》将于明年盛夏时的6月30日上映。
于上周五上映的《新月》首映日票房达7270万美元，创下国内历史首映日票房最高记录，一举打破去年《黑夜骑士》创下的6720万美元的记录。
总体来看，这是好莱坞有史以来的第二个非假期时段的盛大周末，总票房稍低于去年7月18日《黑夜骑士》上映的那个周末，当时那个周末的票房总成绩达2.6亿美元。
相比于去年同期的周末，院线票房大增59%.
除美国外，《新月》同时在海外的25个国家首映，总票房达1.181亿美元。
《新月》继续讲述一个女学生和一个吸血鬼（克里斯汀•斯图尔特和罗伯特•帕丁森扮演）的青春爱情故事，续集中增加了男女主角和一个狼人（泰勒•洛特纳饰演）的“三角恋”剧情。
美国“青少年选择奖”颁奖 《暮色》拔得头筹
Pattinson and Stewart promote their latest film
为何青少年情迷吸血鬼僵尸电影？
Twilight《暮光之城》精讲之六
Twilight《暮光之城》精讲之五
Twilight《暮光之城》精讲之四
Twilight《暮光之城》精讲之三
Twilight 《暮光之城》精讲之二
Twilight《暮光之城》精讲之一
（英语点津陈丹妮 姗姗编辑）
franchise:
a brand name under which a series of products is released 系列品牌
blockbuster:
something, such as a film or book, that sustains widespread popularity and achieves enormous sales 流行大片，畅销巨著
werewolf:
a person believed to have been transformed into a wolf or to be capable of assuming the form of a wolf 狼人
