Twilight: New Moon Crushing Online Sales

Looks like Twilight: New Moon is selling online at a record breaking pace. Early estimates have New Moon breaking $100 Million for the weekend.

From Movietickets,

"NEW MOON" OUTPACING TICKET SALES FOR "TWILIGHT" BY 4-TO-1 AT MOVIETICKETS.COM

"New Moon" sellouts top 1,300, with thousands of tickets still available

(Los Angeles - November 11, 2009) - More than a week prior to its Nov. 20 release, “New Moon” has sold more than four times as many tickets as “Twilight” at MovieTickets.com at the same point in the sales cycle.

MovieTickets.com reports more than 1,300 sold out performances for “Twilight” sequel “New Moon”—including 900 midnight performances—with a large number of tickets still available.

“The fact that ‘New Moon’ is outpacing ‘Twilight’ at a 4-to-1 ratio really speaks to the incredible fan base the film has built in just the past year,’” said Joel Cohen, executive vice president and general manager for MovieTickets.com. “That, combined with the increasing number of consumers buying their movie tickets online, could put this film in a position to be one of our top advance ticket sellers of all-time.”

“New Moon” also accounts for 74 percent of all ticket sales at MovieTickets.com this week.

From Fandango,

New Moon Strikes Down Dark Knight, Harry Potter and Star Wars to Become the #1 Advance Ticket-Seller in Fandango History

(Los Angeles, Nov. 15, 2009) With five more days before its November 20 release date, New Moon has already leaped over previous record-holders to become the top-selling pre-release title in Fandango's ten-year history. The new record for Fandango's fastest-selling film was set on Saturday night, November 14, shortly after 8:00 p.m.

The Top 5 Advance Ticket-Sellers on Fandango (as of November 15, 2009) are now as follows:

1.New Moon (2009)

2.Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005)

3.Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009)

4.The Dark Knight (2008)

5.Twilight (2008)

The latest chapter of The Twilight Saga is currently wolfing down 86% of weekly ticket sales on Fandango, the nation's leading movie ticketing destination.

Thousands of Thursday night midnight showtimes for New Moon are already sold out across the country, from Albany, Georgia to Yuba City, California. Yet New Moon tickets continue to be available. To meet the fan demand, the nation's top theater owners are regularly posting brand new showtimes on additional screens.

"For many fans, it's clearly the year's most anticipated film event," says Fandango Chief Operating Officer Rick Butler. "Ever since tickets went on sale on August 31, it's been among our top five weekly ticket-sellers, as New Moon has a strong pull on audiences. We're seeing a higher-than-usual number of tickets per transaction for this film, suggesting that moviegoers will show up en masse at theaters this weekend with their friends and family."

Here are some fun facts from a recent Fandango survey of more than 2,000 New Moon ticket-buyers:

•98% say the action in New Moon looks better than the action in Twilight.

•72% plan to see the movie with a group of three friends or more.

•52% of survey respondents say they dream about vampires.

•22% are mothers and daughters planning to see New Moon together.

•10% plan to show up at the theater in costume, dressed as characters from the saga.