The wolf's out of the bag now: "New Moon" breaks records (updated)
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.
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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






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