'Twilight Saga: New Moon' smashes 'Harry Potter' box office mark
Photo credit: Getty/Kevin Winter | (L-R) Actors Taylor Lautner, Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson arrive at the afterparty for the premiere of Summit Entertainment's "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" at the Hammer Museum on November 16, 2009 in Los Angeles, California.
The Twilight Saga: New Moon
Trailer: The Twilight Saga: New Moon
'Twilight: New Moon' premiere
Photos: Long Islanders flock to Twilight premiere
“The Twilight Saga: New Moon” has set a box-office record for midnight screenings.
Summit Entertainment estimated Friday that it earned $26.3 million after opening early in the morning.
That would topple the previous midnight record, held by “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.” It earned $22.2 million this year. “The Dark Knight” from 2008 is third with $18.5 million.
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“New Moon” is the second installment of the popular “Twilight” series. It opened at midnight in 3,514 theaters with a per-theater average of $7,476.
Paul Dergarabedian is a box-office analyst for Hollywood.com. He says the midnight start “portends an opening weekend that could be one of the biggest of the year.”
>> PHOTOS: Click here to view photos from the New Moon premiere
>> VIDEO: Watch the "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" trailer
>> PHOTOS: The 'Twilight' divide: Team Edward or Team Jacob?
