'New Moon' breaks midnight screening record
Opening at midnight Thursday in North America, "New Moon" was way over the moon.
The second installment in the "Twilight" franchise scooped up an estimated $26.27 million in 3,514 theaters for a per-theater average of $7,476.
In doing so, it surpassed the previous record-setter in the midnight arena, "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," at $22.2 million.
Summit also played the original "Twilight" movie in 2,057 on Thursday as a 9 p.m. warm-up screening for "Moon," and it grossed an additional $1.3 million.
On Friday, "Moon" will be playing in 4,024 theaters as it settles in for its first weekend run.
