'New Moon' sells out 63 showtimes 64 days before opening

Fan frenzy is already breaking records for "The Twilight Saga: New Moon."

Online ticket sellers MovieTickets and Fandango report that the follow-up to last year's hit from Summit Entertainment, which sold $191.5 million worth of tickets in the U.S. and Canada, is selling out screenings earlier than any other movie to date.

"New Moon" has sold out 50 showtimes of nearly 22,000 offered on Fandango and 13 showtimes of 2,912 offered on MovieTickets. Most of the sold-out shows are at or around midnight Nov. 20, when the movie debuts.

The two websites started selling "New Moon" tickets extraordinarily early -- Aug. 31 for Fandango and Sep. 10 for MovieTickets -- as the theater chains they work with began scheduling screenings in anticipation of a huge first weekend. The first "Twilight" grossed a stellar $36 million on its Friday opening, reflecting pent-up demand among fans of the best-selling books.

For most movies, online ticket sales start about 45 days before they debut.

Though "New Moon" holds the record for selling out screenings the earliest, 20 Century Fox's event film "Avatar" started offering tickets even earlier, on Aug. 21, more than four months before the film's Dec. 18 debut. Neither Fandango nor MovieTickets have yet sold out any "Avatar" shows, although they're currently offering only a tiny fraction of the nearly 25,000 available for "New Moon."

-- Ben Fritz

Photo: Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner in "The Twilight Saga: New Moon." Credit: Kimberly French / Summit Entertainment

Comments

[Josh C.]

Um, yeeeaahhh...
Sure, New Moon will make a you-know-what ton of money in the first 5 days, maybe over $90 million, but then its going to die off very quickly, just like the original did.
It needs to have good reviews to get anywhere. And, regardless of what critics say, this is NOT going to be bigger than Harry Potter. Just aint gonna happen. I don't understand how anyone with a working brain can think that the appeal of Twilight and its brethren is greater than that of H.P. Mabye I'm just ranting, but if you fit that description, you REALLY need a reality check. Like me burning a poster of Robert Pattinson or whoever in front of you.

[its CeCi]

u just hating new moon won't die off!!!

[Krystle]

Josh C. - Relax....take a deep breath. It will be okay. There is room in the world for Harry Potter and Twilight. It doesn't have to be one or the other. It's not West coast versus East Coast, Lakers versus Celtics, or Sharks versus Jets. They are both literary sagas that we love and treasure. Now stop trying to ruin something that is supposed to be magical.

[Marah Barthelmess]

The guy below me must be crazy. You have to understand. Harry Potter was awesome but it's over now. I dont think that this is just going to die out quickly. People are already anticipating the last movie, Breaking Dawn, and they haven't even began filming it yet. The book is a classic love story, what every girl would wish would happen, I have read all the books and i was so intrested in the books I couldnt put them down and i ended up reading all of them in 6 days. I absolutleey believe with all my heart that this is something big and will be something big until all the movies are over and done with. I am one of the millions of people who has entered contests to win to go to the premiere or new moon and things like that. I have said alot and I will stop now but I do have to say that this is big and will be big for awhile.

[Aimee]

i can't wait for new moon to come out on 20 nov.!
it's going to be so cool

[Andi]

Hi everyone!!!
I just wanted to remind everyone how AWSOME the New Moon movie is going to be!GO TEAM JACOB!!! I love The Twilight series!

[sunny]

( Krystle)
I really can say that you put it the best, it is suppose to be magical for everyone. HP fan or Twilight fan which am both, so let's just all be happy there going to finish both saga's with movies and not be so catty on the whole affair.

[ready for a new interview]

So this is great to know, and good in the long run for Rob...but what about Rob's other projects? Would it be a lot to ask for the LA times who has conducted good Rob interviews in the past, to find out what's next for the Pattinson? What's going on with Bel Ami? Unbound Captives? Can we look outside of the Twilight bubble for a little bit to see what's next? We know Remember Me comes out February 12th, 2010, but what's filming next for Rob?

[Alyssa]

I can't wait to see this :)!! TEAM EDWARD!! (:

and I love harry potter and twilight both!!

[Jennifer VERA]

Ok, Josh C. It looks like u need a reality check. When is H.P. going to fight his own battles and also when is he going to graduate from wizard school. It's time to move on buddy H.P. is done. Twilight is what's in now! Go Team Edward!!!!

[Reyna Lee]

i love the twilight saga. the new moon movie has a reputation to uphold... :-D hopefully, it will be successful! oh, and just for the record, Harry Potter is amazing and so is Twilight! It really doesn't have to be a "pick one or the other," situation... :-D

[Phoebe]

Harry Potter isn't done yet... 2 more movies to go and they will be just as huge as the Twilight films, if not bigger. Just because there's magic in both of them doesn't mean you can only like one, but not the other... I love both and will be there at Midnight, all dressed up, for both. And I will probably watch both over and over again. I don't think of Twilight as a Harry Potter rival, but another great option once Harry Potter is over.

[whitney Dixon]

i'm so excited for the movie but i'm going to be so pissed if the the little girls in the theatre can't shut their mouths. they are honestly going to ruin it, i'm more excited for the dvd so i can watch it over and over again. team edward for life <3