'New Moon' a monster hit at box office

"The Twilight Saga: New Moon" topped the box office this weekend with an estimated $140.7 million, according to BoxOfficeMojo.com

It is the third biggest opening weekend in box office history behind "The Dark Knight" at $158.4 million and "Spider-Man 3" at $151.1 million

"The Twilight Saga: New Moon" also shattered the record for biggest opening day in history, topping "The Dark Knight"

From BoxOfficeMojo's Brandon Gray:

Claiming the record for the biggest one-day gross, "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" raked in an estimated $72.7 million on approximately 8,500 screens at 4,024 sites. "The Dark Knight" was the previous title holder with $67.2 million on around 9,300 screens at 4,366 sites.

New Moon's first day more than doubled that of its predecessor "Twilight," which debuted to $36 million on around 6,000 screens at 3,419 sites. Twilight's first weekend wound up at $69.6 million, which was also less than New Moon's first day. Due to fans storming theaters on its opening day, Twilight's first weekend was heavily Friday-loaded, leading to much lower grosses for Saturday ($21.3 million) and Sunday ($12.4 million). The fan fervor was even more intense for New Moon, so the picture will not maintain Friday's pace throughout the weekend.

WEEKEND TOP 5 STUDIO ESTIMATES, NOVEMBER 20-22, 2009

Rank. Movie Title (Distributor)
Weekend Gross | Theaters | Total Gross | Week #

1. The Twilight Saga: New Moon (Summit Entertainment)
$140.7 million | 4,024 | $140.7 million | 1

2. The Blind Side (Warner Bros.)
$34.5 million | 3,110 | $34.5 million | 1

3. 2012 (Sony / Columbia)
$26.5 million | 3,408 | $108.2 million | 2

4. Planet 51 (Sony / Columbia)
$12.6 million | 3,035 | $12.6 million | 1

5. A Christmas Carol (2009) (Buena Vista)
$12.2 million | 3,578 | $79.8 million | 3