New Moon Owns the Boxoffice but still Third Biggest Opening Weekend

I am not a Twihard, but I have to tip my hat to the makers of Twlight Saga’s New Moon as it shattered records all weekend long. I do like the series as a whole despite its glaring flaws, but it has grown to be something more than just Stephanie Meyers medochre writing and emo girls.

Latino Review says:

New Moon broke a ton of records and almost beat Spider-Man 3 and The Dark Knight becoming 3rd in all time opening weekends with $140.7 million estimated dollars. So far it has earned $258 million total when you include the international numbers.

Here’s some #1’s for New Moon:

Werewolf film (LOL!) #1
Yearly Opening Weekends 2009 #1
Opening Day Gross #1
Single Day Gross #1
Single Friday Day Gross #1
Opening Weekends – Nov. #1
Opening Holiday Weekends #1
Widest Independent Release #1
Widest Opening Indy Release #1
Fastest To $100 Million #1

While the “Werewolf film” title is a little specific, the other titles are a level playing field.

This is like Legos. (Stay with me a moment) Legos are insanely popular. It is by far my favourite toy growing up and my own kids still swim in the piles of it I have collected and now passed on to them. But like big boxoffice smash hits, the toy was dominated by a male demographic. Now out of no where they have lego sets for girls, and its about time that a soft squishy romance story would land in the big house with the rest of the boy toys.

Its an impressive goal nonetheless, and even all those haters out there ready with their “This is surely a sign of the end of the world!” trolling there has to at least be some respect for what they have accomplished.

Is the writing in the books great? No. Not at all.
Is it a great action flick? No. It has its moments, but this is a romance.

But it is a franchise that has managed to connect with people outside of its targetted tween girls demographic and people are clearly enjoying this franchise. I quite expect anything popular to be met with that knee jerk “I have to make fun of it” stuff, but honestly it just proves how popular it is when people do that.

That all being said, do you HAVE to like this franchise now that a lot of people went to see it? Not at all.

I myself am more looking forward to the third film as it was my favourite book of the series, but I almost hope they don’t make the last book into a movie. It was terrible. And I say that knowing the first three were not that great, but still had SOMETHING to them. I look for the good in them regardless. The fourth book had so much potential to wind up the franchise with a whimper.

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62 thoughts on “New Moon Owns the Boxoffice but still Third Biggest Opening Weekend

  1. i’m girl twilight is an …well.. novel but if u compare this lotr,hp etc its mile away (lack of twist,plot hole, unclearly background detail etc)even i compare with underworld <this still have clear n interesting background "corvinus thing" ,i think likely meyer get her novel idea after watch queen of the damned i not from dream lol

  2. this low budget crap, the production never intend making great movie they just making crap coz no matter what they trow at market the audience will happily eat it ,so they can get huge money on it, forget your hope n fanatic for quality coz the ph know this is crap film, they just laugh at u right know if they really intend making great movie they will throw big budget,good director, good actor, just put ur fanatism down this clearly plain crap

  3. To provide an alternative insight into the success of this franchise …

    These are fundamentally romance novels, something which I am sure most people on this site have never read, and for good reason. However there is a large proportion of the population that for 100s of years have passionately (excuse the pun) followed this type of entertainment, despite its lack of quality writing.
    I can’t think of another series (books or movies) that has tapped into this type of vapid pure romance schmaltz in my lifetime, so the market has been kept waiting for a long time! In my view Titanic doesn’t come close to the ‘swooning’ type of storyline that Stephanie Meyers has gone for.
    I have to agree with John that the books are poorly written – in fact poorly is an understatement – however if it means that people read, that otherwise don’t then I am all for it.
    I just wish I had applied my time elsewhere : )

    1. The story aside, Kristen Stewart is plain BAD actor.

      I’ve seen her in few films and she really doesn’t know how to act. I will refrain myself from seeing this film but I did see the first one[actually rented it] and My God was she horrible there…no emotions and just plain stares…That type of acting could easily win her a place in the most pathetic actors list EVER!

      1. It’s light fare, you know? It is what it is and should be enjoyed (or not) as such.

        I went in with zero expectations, and rather enjoyed myself. This in contrast to the massive disappointments that were Terminator and Wolverine.

        And the above Titanic comments by Slash are still stupid.

        My pick for the year is still Whip It…Men who Stare at Goats wasn’t bad either.

  4. Latino review said: “New Moon broke a ton of records and almost beat Spider-Man 3 and The Dark Knight becoming 3rd in all time opening weekends with $140.7 million estimated dollars”

    17 MILLION DOLLARS isn’t almost…[thats a huge margin]

    1. Its still more than the #4 film.

      Third is still third and it still took in more than everyone else but those two.

      If a film made $17million people would say it was a failure (assuming average budget for a film) but a $17m gap is suddenly huge?

      Its all perspective.

      1. Certainly, your perspective is $17M is failure for average budget[i don’t know where did you get this figure from?] BUT consider any Indy film…17M is good opening weekend numbers.

        I think it won’t sustain these trends and it really won’t matter how much it made the opening weekend if you consider the READ DEAL…final Gross.

        Even a great film like TDK[which managed to sustain it grip on BO for a long time] did not reach the pinnacle set by Titanic.
        I wonder if Avatar can break it? I will be very surprised if it does, but you never know!

  5. I started reading this series a week ago. Love book 1. Decided to watch the Twilight movie. What a let down! Did a poor job with some of the best points of the book. Read book 2. Was disappointed especially since I loved book 1. Wasn’t really interested in seeing the movie but after reading everyone’s reviews on it, I’m intrigued. I thought book 3 was great. Really enjoyed Eclipse. I think it would be a great movie, probably the best of the series. Book 4 – really belongs in the trash. It was just horrible.

    1. LoL, I’m with you. Well, I didn’t HATE Breaking Dawn, but I feel like the author really held back and didn’t follow her instincts because she was too afraid to take a chance and wanted to end the book the way she always felt it should end. To me that is a cop-out because I felt as if there were points in the book where the characters were evolving in a different direction. Eclipse is also my favorite book and I’m looking forward to seeing what David Slade has done with the film.

  6. Well Rodney, shouldn’t you wait a little more time before comparing this movie’s box office numbers with other great movies like Dark Knight.

    Agreed it has huge opening weekend numbers but the BIGGER question is will it manage to sustain it???
    I don’t think so!

    It is completely possible all the fangirls and few fanboys that this saga has booked their first weekend tickets and saw it ASAP. Hence my theory is the numbers will fall like a pack of cards in its 2nd, 3rd week. And it will disappear from the face of the earth pretty soon. Just wait and watch…Besides not many so called fans liked this movie, they say its flat out pathetic acting.

    1. It is pathetic acting with no chemistry whatsoever, but i’m afraid the box office won’t drop that bad. It has created a buzz, good or bad, and people will be still check it out so as not to be the one who didn’t see it. Hell i saw it and I hate these things. I just felt I couldn’t I had no right to hate it unless I had seen it. Now I have a right to hate it.

      1. I will not see this and hence won’t contribute my penny towards its receipts.

        In fact I will wait for Avatar in 3D and also Leap Year. Cameroon is back IS a reason enough for me to be present first day first show. And Leap Year…well Amy is always charming and great to watch, add Mathew Goode with a small fun-love story to the mix and I will see it.

  7. Titanic was a treat to the masses, thus the box office receipts,( plus a fine piece of work ), however the targeted demographic is not your average film goer, nor the occansional 3 films a year patron. They don’t care about the craft…the art of film making, acting, direction etc. It seems to me it is the same crowd that actually thinks American Idol is real and Not scripted. The numbers don’t lie, and kudos to “them” who pulled this off…however “The end of World” omments are pretty funny to me and it shows respect rather than trashing the fans experience and their devotion, trolling is far from it. A polite way to agree with others that don’t buy into the tripe…ummm…. errr hype.

  8. Hey it’s selling bigtime, and as much as it’s fun to bash this kind of stuff from time to time, you can’t argue the numbers..Hell SAW was total crap for me (opinion) and didn’t make nearly as much as this and there on what? like the 17th one already.

    so as much as this gets bashed its not going to end so lets all save our energy for something that truly deserves the bashing.

  9. Rodney – I’ve been waiting to see what you thought of Breaking Dawn and I’m on board with you wishing they won’t make a 4th movie, but we all know they will. I can’t imagine how Breaking Dawn can make a good movie.

    I am also tired of the generalization the fans of the books and movies are placed into, but I guess it is to be expected. Fanboys are always sterotyped. I’m not going to defend myself for enjoying the novels. I know who I am.

  10. I get so tired of reading “how can women like this crap?” I enjoyed the movie and the entire movie going experience. It was nice to have a movie for women on top for a change.

    I love the normal blockbuster movies, I was in line for the rerelease of Star Wars with my male friends and LOTR. This is the same type of experience for a wide range of woman from teens to Grandmas. I think it is a positive thing as long as everyone is having fun.

    1. Again, this is all women expect?

      It’s nice to see a big movie cater to women (you did get Titanic!), but at least have higher standards. Same pretty much goes with men as well.

      1. Titanic was a success for not being a girly movie. Guys enjoy that too. Jack is the balls.

        Yeah it was a love story, but when they show the guys all hanging on Rose’s words as she told the story you get it. It was an epic love story and still had adventure.

        Its not “all women expect”, and I think its ignorant to say any movie with a love story in it is only made for women.

      2. And saying “this is all women expect” is got of a B.S. statement to be honest. Nobody has said that is all they expect, but it is something they may enjoy. Believe it or not, but people are not as one dimensional as you seem to think. They may like what they get out of this movie, but they may also like other types of movies and expect other things. Can you generalize your statement any more?

        Personally, I am a guy and enjoyed the movie. Ya it had a lot of laws, but I (unlike some people) am a fairly forgiving person in regard to movies. I guess I like to see the good in things, not just the bad. Which I am sure you would probably respond with, “Well there was only bad in the movie” or “there was no good in it,” which would just drive my point home. Have a nice day.

      3. I loved “Titanic” enough to buy the DVD. You don’t have to be a woman or homosexual to like Twilight or love stories. But, Twilight definitely isn’t my cup of tea.

        @Rodney

        Did you hear about The Vatican condeming “New Moon”?

      4. Who is the primary fanbase for Titanic, women. Women are the resaon it made such as huge amount of money and lasted so incredibly long in theatres. Women are the driving force behind the success of 90% of movies. By the way, I never said Titanic was a bad movie.

        And I never said that anything with romance is inherently for women. All great movies have elements of romance (maybe a few exceptions).

        I also called out men on this as well. It’s an insult to yourself to settle for trash when you can have better. If crap is all you ask for, crap is all you’re going to get.

      5. Incorrect, the Titanic is NOT the world’s biggest box office hit only because of women. It’s a combined audience, a film doesn’t earn over a billion dollars coz of women wetting themselves over Leonardo’s face, mate.

        There was Kate Winslet, naked, to consider, as well.

        Oh, just for the record, it’s one of my all-time favorite films.

      6. love and romance doesn’t necessary for women consumption only. I did enjoy Titanic, the acting were great (that’s why they are the household name today. There is Kate Winslett in her birthday suit (pretty ironic, if this flick really are intended for women demo, there is plenty of naked Katie and none of the Leo, so the question is…). Plenty of good thing to say about Titanic that male also can enjoy (like myself). Not so with New Moon (got dragged by my gf into it, and still thinking that Trueblood are better than this).

      7. It was a naked chubby Kate Winslet, which was empowering to women. She wasn’t of typical size (she was for the era the movie was set, but not what people usually cast in hollywood). Hey, I thought she looked good, but it was still a moment aimed at women just as much as men. I agree with Slashbeast on this one, it is aimed at women. Sure, it will snag a few men, but that isn’t where the arrow is pointed. Men take there girlfriends/boyfriends/spouse to see it.

      8. Okay okay thats a good point. i get THAT.

        But if they want to pick on movies that are anti-God…. WHY PICK ON TWILIGHT? Twilight talks about religion in a good manner and in some parts of the 3rd and 4th book it has some good moral.

        Wouldnt they want to talk shit about the Da Vinci Code or The Exorcist or 2012???????????

        This shows exactly how much free time these priests have.
        Or maybe they have a great sence of humor and theyre just fuckin’ with us.

      9. The vast majority of appeal from Titanic and romance stories is towards women. That’s just a fact. Just like stating that the majority of appeal of Transformers and action stories is towards men.

        If you think Titanic made the ridiculous amount of money it did because of men then you’re out of your minds. Women have the spending power, and they spent it on Titanic.

      10. It’s so funny that people keep mentioning Transformers as a male movie. My 13 yr old daughter loves Transformers and even the awful Transformers 2! She also loves Twilight and New Moon – lmao.

  11. Dude, sorry but I have no respect for what they ‘accomplished’. This is popular because teen girls who weren’t popular were into the books. Then it became popular to be the emo kid. That’s why the first movie, which in every way was god awful, made so much money. The resulting buzz is why this one made so much money. Not because it was good, not because people connected with it, but because they heard they were supposed to like it. If crapping in your pants was suddenly the cool thing to do, half of america would do it not because they liked crapping in there pants, but because they heard it was cool and wanted to see what it was all about.
    I don’t have a knee jerk to make fun of things that are popular, because if they are good they are good. I also don’t have a knee jerk reaction to follow blindly films and trends I know are crap. These films, in my opinion, couldn’t haev been worse if Uwe Boll directed them and yet they will make even more money from the next one.

    1. as i too agree with everything u say except “This is popular because teen girls who weren’t popular were into the books” lets be honest… girls who are still emo and over 20 are like that too…every person i know who loves this bullshit of a sad acting movie is over 25 has more then 2 kids and they all failed with there man so there single mothers…there is a trend here and i look at it more of the “im a fail parent” syndrome too….like reading a fucking 7th grade book will take u from fuck up trailer parent to educated master of a turd

      1. Bigsampson always shoots from the hip without thinking.

        Your generalization comes from a handful of people with a common trait you feel identifies the type of damaged goods you think they would have to be to like this franchise.

        It is flawed, but it still connects with people and has an overall good story.

        To assume that the fans are emotionally damaged and all single parents in failed relationships is an assumption that you CANT apply to every fan of Twilight.

        Your very assumption proves you wrong by statistics alone.

        Most of my friends who like Twilight are successful professional individuals who are in successful relationships and have emotional stability. But then according to you that can’t happen.

      2. It seems strange that men like you have so much animosity towards these movies. In comparison, I could care less if GI Joe is super popular with guys. What is it about the movies that threaten you??
        I am a college educated(2 degrees), married parent of 2 successful children, and I enjoyed the Twilight books and movies. Are they well written? Of course not. But they still have a spark that I haven’t seen in a long time. They bring me back to feelings and thoughts I haven’t had since I was a teen. I know many women feel the same way. You don’t need to take this personally, though.

    2. You might want to check what “emo” is before trying to use the term.

      Also “teen girls who weren’t popular” is a blind generalization. You don’t know that, and you CANT know that. You are just trolling with out cause because YOU don’t like the franchise.

      So the buzz of a truly terrible movie combined with droves of socially unacceptable 12-13 year olds made this nearly as big a hit as Dark Knight or Spiderman?

      You do have to rely on knee jerk reactions to make the assumptions you are stating. Its the only way anyone would think you could make them.

      You have no credibility in these statements.

      1. Rodney is in the right on this one, fellas.

        One thing I think is innaccurate though is his claim that this is as big a hit as “The Dark Knight” or “Spiderman”. Technically, It’s opening weekend was about as big a hit as those prior movies, but we have no idea how it will do in it’s entire theatrical run (who knows, it may make Dark Knight money, but that’s a huge ammount of money). I do recognize that the statement was made to cement your point about everyone seeing this not only being socially unnacceptible tweens though.

        Also, I DO believe that this could be a “truly terrible movie” and still make all this money. Terrible films make piles of cash all the time. Haven’t seen it though, so I can’t comment specifically on “New Moon”.

    1. That’s an unfair statement. “Guy movies” have been doing this sort of thing for years (which you admit, but still the first statement is very unfair). If you’re going to make any statement like that it should be that “people in general don’t demand very much from their movies”, which is, still, only semi accurate.

      I’ve not yet seen “New Moon”, but I will go on record saying that the first film in the series (which I did NOT like at all) is a better film than “Wolverine”, “Terminator: Salvation”, “Revenge of the Fallen”, and “G.I. Joe”. Mostly due to the fact that it kind of resembles a completed film (something the prior “guy” films mentioned seem to have a lot of trouble accomplishing).

      The series isn’t good, in my opinion, but who cares? The only thing about “Twilight” that worries me is the possibility that it will make little girls think that the relationships in them are in any way healthy, but I think most women are smart enough to know otherwise, so it doesn’t keep me up at night. It’s a fantasy, as long as that is recognized, who cares?

      It doesn’t hurt anyone to watch trashy, escapist, fantasy. It is not nice (and can be hurtful) however to try and make an entire gender feel stupid for liking a film. It is also ill informed, ignorant, and innaccurate. If you don’t like the film trash the film, not the viewers.

      1. That’s a pretty low standard.

        And you’re right, I was referring to pretty much all people, because men are just as guilty as women for contributing money to not so good movies. However, if women keep giving money to this then they’re effectively saying “this is all we want in a movie” and are pretty much settling for crap. Again, men are just as guilty of this.

  12. There’s no point in ripping this crap anymore. Teenage girls eat this mediocre emo crap up, shell out large amounts of money for it, and drag their boyfriends along with them to see it. Move on.

      1. This is a good question as there is little to no emotion in the whole movie! The scene where Edward tells Bella he doesn’t want to see her anymore, a scene which should be one of the major emotional peaks, was painful to watch because it was completely flat! There was no emotional reaction from Bella at all.

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