New Moon Destroys U.S. Box Office Competition

Monday 23rd November 2009 - 09:46:10

New Moon destroyed the competition at the American box office this week by grossing over $140 million to take the top spot.

The vampire adventure achieved the third highest American debut of all time - taking $258.8 million (£161.75 million) worldwide, after opening in 26 countries.

Despite the mixed reviews from the critics fans flocked to sees the Twilight sequel this weekend as Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart reprised their roles as lovers Edward Cullen and Bella Swan.

Following Bella Swan's ill-fated 18th birthday party, Edward Cullen and his family abandon the town of Forks, Washington, in an effort to protect her from the dangers inherent in their world.

As the heartbroken Bella sleepwalks through her senior year of high school, numb and alone, she discovers Edward's image comes to her whenever she puts herself in jeopardy. Her desire to be with him at any cost leads her to take greater and greater risks.

New Moon isn't the only box office success story, Sandra Bullock's The Blind Side - the true story of American football prodigy Michael Oher - opened with an impressive $34.5 million (£21.5 million).

Big budget blockbuster 2012 dropped to three after one week at number one but did go on to gross a further $26.5 million.

A third new entry inside the top five came in the form of animation movie Planet 51 while A Christmas Carol dropped three places to round off the top five.
 
1. The Twilight Saga: New Moon - $140,700,000
2. The Blind Side - $34,510,000
3. 2012 - $26,500,000
4. Planet 51 - $12,600,000
5. A Christmas Carol - $12,230,000
6. Precious - $11,008,000
7. The Men Who Stare At Goats - $2,773,000
8. Couples Retreat - $1,952,000
9. The Fourth Kind - $1,730,000
10. Law Abiding Citizen - $1,615,000