The wolf's out of the bag now: "New Moon" breaks records (updated)
UPDATE (11/25): According to Pioneer Films, the local distributor of New Moon, the film took in an estimated Php121 million over its 3-day opening weekend -- the biggest 3-day opening take in the Philippines EVER. We have further confirmation of this in the form of a press release published Nov. 24th in The Philippine Star (see scan on the left, click to enlarge), posting the exact figure: Php120,762,808 (est. US$2.6 million). If New Moon doesn't lose steam, it will be on track to overtake, at the very least, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince's local gross of Php187 million to take 3rd place in this year's local box office race. The press release also confirms what we reported earlier: theaters already had to put the film on majority of their screens to accommodate demand, but a lot of people were still not able to get tickets. New Moon will be in theaters in Metro Manila until the Metro Manila Film Festival starts on December 25th, but will probably still run in other locations. Thanks to Rowena for the scan. UPDATE (11/24): Box Office Mojo has posted the ACTUAL weekend figures and New Moon did better than Summit previously estimated, actually grossing US$148 million in the US and US$132.1 million in other territories, bringing the total opening weekend haul to a jaw-dropping US$274.9 million worldwide.
---
I don't really know why some box office gurus are still surprised by the numbers posted by The Twilight Saga: New Moon this past weekend. If Twilight was any indication, the sequel could only do better -- and it did! All I can say is: you go, girls!
Pinoy Twilighters came out in droves last Friday, and long lines were seen at the cinemas as soon as the malls opened. Ayala Cinemas' Sureseats.com website had so much traffic that the servers just bogged down last weekend. Reports from fellow fans also indicate that there were very few tickets to be had for walk-in audiences as most of the weekend screenings of New Moon were already booked since two weeks ago. Theaters had to put New Moon on more screens to accommodate the demand, that most multiplexes were showing it in an average of three-fourths of their total screens.However, since Box Office Mojo doesn't update their international charts as often as their US data, and we are not yet privy to the local box office report, here's how New Moon did in the US and a run-down of the records it broke:
- New Moon took US $72 million on opening day, overtaking The Dark Knight's US $67 million to become the record-holder for the Biggest All-Time Opening Day gross despite opening in about 300 fewer screens than the Batman sequel. This is also double Twilight's opening day sales of US $36 million.
- Over Friday (Nov. 20) to Sunday (Nov. 22), New Moon took a total of US $140 million to get onto the top spot in the Biggest All-Time Opening Weekend for November race. This is also roughly double Twilight's opening weekend gross of US $69.6 million. This was, however, not enough to overtake Spider-Man 3's US $151 million or The Dark Knight's US $158 million for the all-time record, as New Moon dropped 40% in 3 days, following Twilight's box office behavior. This illustrates that the Twilight Saga's devoted fan base came out in full force on opening day, but being a franchise that caters to a very specific demographic, the remaining audiences were not enough to stop the steep drop. Here's hoping the same devoted fan base goes back to watch again and again -- after all, it was this kind of repeat sales that kept Titanic afloat.
- New Moon's US $26 million midnight release sales overtook Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince's US $22 million earlier this year. However, New Moon did open in about 400 more screens than Potter.
- Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen's US $127 million three-day opening earlier this year was also overtaken by New Moon's US $140 million to make it the Biggest Weekend Opening Gross for 2009.
- New Moon is also the fastest movie to reach US $100 million ever. Vampire speed and all that, you know?
Last year, Twilight was on a box office see-saw throughout its first week, eventually hitting US $119 million after 10 days. New Moon has already surpassed that in three days, but it's likely the sequel will also undergo the same see-saw movement. However, US box office analysts predict the film will still come out on top this coming Thanksgiving weekend.
Locally, New Moon has very stiff competition in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Php187 million), the John Lloyd-Sarah flick You Changed My Life (Php217 million), and the monster Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (Php339 million). Twilight only made roughly Php179 million last year, ending up in third place behind the other John Lloyd-Sarah starrer, A Very Special Love (Php180 million) and Iron Man (Php187 million).
I think Twilight would've done better if it didn't hit the 2008 Metro Manila Film Festival blockade on December 25th. It came back in a handful of theaters in January 2009, but not enough to give it that extra boost to propel it to No. 2. New Moon is expected to bump into the same problem this year, as it is only projected to run for 4 weeks. We'll post the local numbers once we have them.
New Moon was eventually green-lighted just as Summit Entertainment was laughing all the way to the bank after Twilight's successful opening weekend. Will they green-light Breaking Dawn in the next few days? Stay tuned.
More number-crunching fodder for box office geeks like me: 2009 US Weekly Index | 2009 US Yearly Index | Twilight's Box Office History | The Twilight Saga: New Moon's Box Office History | 2009 Philippine Box Office Index | 2009 Philippine Weekly Box Office Index (not updated)
Data Source: Box Office Mojo
Kudos to the cast, staff, and crew of our beloved Saga and, of course, to us fans. We've shown great support during the opening weekend. We did it guys! *applause*
Woah!!!
Way to go Twilighters!!!
oh snap!!!!
it beat harry potter too?!
*skips along in the woods like vamp bella in cheesy clothes*lol
Now can Summit PLEASE release the shooting & release dates for Breaking Dawn??!!
PRETTY PLEASE WITH SUGAR ON TOP ?! :-D
never, ever underestimate the power of the vamps and the wolves. we rock! twilighters score! haters...cat got your tongue? hehehehe
well it may not be appealing to those ordinary movie goer but I can say that it is the best movie adaptaion that I've watch for a long time. this is the best
yung friend ko nga they watch in alabang town center, i guess. they waited for almost half hour because the line was so ling then when they reach the ticket booth the sales girl said "sorry ma'am pero sold out na po"
way to go twilighters. we are the best!
It was pretty obvious that they had a much bigger budget for New Moon than the original Twilight, which made a big difference in a lot of the action / special effects scenes
Read in The Philippine Star that New Moon not only broke box office records in the US, Italy, France, Germany, Canada, Russia and the UK but also here in our own shores!
Our weekend total (Friday-Sunday) is... drumroll please...
Php 120,762,808.00!!!
It's now the biggest 3-day run in the Philippines!!!
Grabe guys, bilib na talaga ako sa inyo!!! Ang galing natin!!!
Woohoo!
We congratulate all the Twilighters! :D This is OUR fandom and we made this happen, after all. So, way to go everyone!
ang galing galing galing galing!
even if the backlash is 10fold... there's no denying...this is a phenomenon that's here to stay... haters or whatevs... there's no stopping us now. I pity my friends who have to bear with my tweets, my squeeees, my constant twiheartedness.. they'll just have to deal with it! That's why I love this site. We're all in this together! hehe. lol
GRACIELOU: Oh dear, I just had a High School Musical mental image...
Wow Php120M kagad wow! biruin mo wla pa siyang 1 week tas ganyan n yung figures. Eh yung you change my life nga eh more than a month na pinalabas nla bgo marating ang top spot eh yung new moon in just, what 3, 4 days, wow this is amazing,
We twilighters is really great. thats why our stars are so motivated!
way to go everyone
The local box office numbers are amazing! Way to go, Pinoy Twilighters! Let's keep this up, shall we? :D
Congratulations to the cast & crew of New Moon for making such a wonderful movie! One that I'm definitely going to see over and over again! :)
You're welcome. And yehey to us!!
Sana Eclipse (which I'm really excited about coz it's my fave out of the 4 books) could surpass what we've done with New Moon.
LET'S DO THIS!!! :D
...congratulations to the new moon team!!! :) they hit big inspite of those negative movie reviews...and to all of us twilighters and twi-hards here and abroad.. for the undying support!!!
nice!!
it is really a great movie..
and bigtime mga local promo!!
haha
thanks to tCP 4 the links..
i just have one
negative reaction about new moon.,
ndi q guzto un soundtrack, alang thrill, maybe they should have paramore back..
nice!!
it is really a great movie..
and bigtime mga local promo!!
haha
thanks to tCP 4 the links..
i just have one
negative reaction about new moon.,
ndi q guzto un soundtrack, alang thrill, maybe they should have paramore back..
My reaction to the movie..here the things.
Kstew- wow! she did her best, her performance was really fantastic, i mean its really hard for an actress to play a part of bella in the new moon because she's totally wreck. So kstew your definitely my idol.
RPattz- *giggles* I'm forever team edward, though lot of fans switch to team jacob, coz of his 8 packs or 10 packs abs? lol, rob's delivered edward the way i imagine him to be. but i think his make up is much better in twilight?
Ashley/alice- I don't know but i was kinda disappointed with her acting, (hey! don't kill me please, I'm alice fan) it's just i didn't see the enthusiasm whenever she spoke like i always imagine in alice, especially in the birthdAY scene. anyway Ashley is so gorgeous.
Taylor- two thumbs up! wow he evolved as an actor, he did not disappoint the team jacob's fans. he waves their flag.
Billy, aka charlie- he remind me of my dad, lol, coz he's a cop too.
..jeezz..
the cullens- I definitely run with the vampires, though the contact lens was a bit creepy, or rather scary( according to my 11 yr old cousin) you guys are great!
rachelle/victoria- *sad* even though she's not in eclipse anymore, she will forever be remembered as victoria for us, that scene when she was hunted by the wolves, is one of my fav. in the movie.
volturi- see yah at the BD.
Chris Weitz_- wow, he's a genius, though there's a lot of negative reviews from the non-twihards, he keep it light when he said that newmoon movie is EXCLUSIVE only for those twilight fans, he didn't care whether you understand the film or not. It was made only for the followers of the saga. (yeah!)
..So i therefore conclude that this coming weekend I'll watch the movie again for the 4th time!!! 4th time guys!!! I am definitely crazy! ROLF!!
Thanks!!!
hey... this is a little out of the topic, but TWILIGHT and its stars are nominated for several categories in the people's choice awards 2010 which includes:
Favorite movie, Favorite movie actor (robert pattinson), Favorite movie actress (kristen stewart), Favorite breakout movie actor (taylor lautner) and favorite on-screen team (rob and kristen).
I know how supportive you are of twilight... So please vote...
...yes i saw twilight @ the people's choice award... i already vote to them and i'm still going to vote to them! :)
I voted twilight movie and casts for People's choice award many times.
please make this site updated. thank you