New Moon breaks box office records

NEW Moon, the latest film in the Twilight saga, has blitzed the Australian box office, taking a record $16 million on its opening weekend.

New Moon easily beat the previous record set by Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince ($14,331,000), totalling $16,010,000 after opening on 530 screens.
"What a phenomenal result, this is way beyond our expectations and confirms that the Twilight franchise has well and truly arrived," said Robert Slaviero, chief executive of Hoyts Distribution.
The vampire love story, which stars Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner, opened on November 19.
It was the third-highest opening day Australian release with just over $5 million in ticket sales, beaten only by the Lord of the Rings part two and three, The Return of The King and The Two Towers.
The third instalment in the franchise, Eclipse, will be released in July 2010.

Full story: 
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/entertainment/movies/new-moon-breaks-box-office-records/story-e6frexli-1225802061546

Source:  AAP 23 November, 2009