“Summit has announced that The Twilight Saga: New Moon has officially set a new all-time midnight box office record, taking in $26.27M from 3514 theaters.”

This shatters The Dark Knight’s $18.4M midnight debut for a 3-day weekend. It also easily surpasses the all-time record for midnight showings which was held by Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, which took in $22.2M on a Tuesday night on its way to a 5-day weekend total of $158M. The Dark Knight went on to take in $67.17M that opening day, dropped 29.1% from Friday to Saturday to bring in another $47.65M, and ended with $43.6M on Sunday for an opening weekend total of $158.4M.

When I saw the Twilight Saga: New Moon on Monday at the premiere I was more than a little excited. Of course, when there is that much anticipation you are always afraid of disappointment, but Twilighters - you will not be disappointed. The one difference I noticed most when watching the film, was that the cinematography had changed from the indie film vibe, to a more traditional film style by Chris Weitz. I’m sure that when you see this movie you will agree that Chris has definitely given justice to the book, it follows the story almost exactly. Even some of the lines we all loved are included. I burst out laughing when Jacob says, “What a marshmallow!” in the movie theater after the awkward three way date.

The actors we all have grown to love in Twilight have all improved in The Twilight Saga: New Moon. Kristen, who has such a large part in this movie, does an amazing job. The breakup scene, I was most anxious about, turned out nearly perfect. It did make me cry, which is the ultimate proof of how great it was! Kristen portrayed Bella’s sadness in this film, which must have been incredibly difficult. In our interview with her she told us, “…in the book there’s nothing there’s literally nothing like it that I can think of in the real world that I could relate to. You know what I mean? Like I’ve been broken up with, I’ve had my heart broken whatever, I think. But it was still higher than that. Like “oh, oh you think you know what it feels like to hurt? Have you ever died? You don’t know what you’re talking about.” She convinced me that she really understands her character’s situation, which was crucial for portraying it. Taylor Lautner, who came so close to losing the role, shows such a passion for his character that it comes across very well on screen. Robert Pattinson, whose role is smaller, will still wow the fans. For those who were worried there will be too much, or too little Edward, you won’t be let down.

I also thought that bringing accomplished actors Michael Sheen, and Dakota Fanning into the project for the Volturi roles was a great addition. When you watch how well Aro’s “feathery voice” and Jane’s evil yet innocent nature is portrayed, you will be very pleased. Also, the action sequences and special effects have come up 5 notches, the wolves are incredibly realistic and the fight scene with the Volturi has the perfect amount of suspense. Wait until you see how well Pattinson portrays the pain Jane is putting him through! It’s truly terrifying.

What the fans will love most about The Twilight Saga: New Moon is that it was made for Twilight fans, not as your everyday book to film adaption. Keeping a movie so close to a novel is a very difficult task but I’m sure you will all agree that Chris Weitz has succeeded. A lot of Twilight fans are going to return from the theaters very happy tonight!

Do you want to know exactly how much money the Twilight Saga: New Moon is making in theaters? We made this nifty little widget for you to put on your page that will tell you how much it’s making. When I get home today I will be putting it in the sidebar! Of course it’s all at zero right now since it’s not released yet.