THE TWILIGHT SAGA: NEW MOON – Worldwide Blockbuster

The Twilight Saga: New Moon, starring Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart, and Taylor Lautner (above), was the weekend's #1 box-office hit both domestically and internationally.

Directed by Chris Weitz, and adapted by Melissa Rosenberg from Stephenie Meyer's novel, New Moon tells the story of a teen girl (Stewart) who is caught between a hunky vampire (Pattinson) and an equally hunky werewolf (Lautner). Somehow, this multispecies love-lust triangle has struck a chord with global audiences, reportedly mostly teenage girls and older women. (How true that demographics breakdown is I don't know.)

In the US/Canada, New Moon earned $42.5 million from Friday-Sunday, once again leaving the competition behind. (However, the Sandra Bullock vehicle The Blind Side came close on its heels, with $40 million in ticket sales). Over the five-day Thanksgiving holiday, the film took in $66 million; its ten-day total currently stands at $230.7 million in North America. For comparisons sake: following its release in November 2008, the original Twilight, also starring Pattinson and Stewart, went on to earn a domestic total of $192.7 million.

Additionally, according to The Hollywood Reporter New Moon (above, Taylor Lautner and Kristen Stewart) has grossed $243 million overseas, topping box-office charts in France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Spain, and other markets. The Twilight Saga: New Moon's worldwide total has already reached nearly $475 million in a mere two weeks.

James Cameron, Fox, and the Avatar (estimated cost $300-$500 million) crowd must be praying to every intergalactic god out there for this sort of box-office reception.

The Blind Side, a sentimental tale starring Sandra Bullock, is also doing well in North America. "Experts" claim it's because Sandra Bullock attracted the women, the sports-themed story attracted the men (as if every year there aren't tons of sports movies that flop miserably), and "families" checked it out because of the inspirational storyline about a white bigot whose heart melts and grows flowers after helping an overgrown black football player. Christians may have been attracted by the table scene shown above, but it remains unclear what about The Blind Side lured the various ethnic, religious, and sexual-orientation minorities, in addition to people of different political affiliations.

In any case, The Blind Side is Sandra Bullock's second 2009 box-office hit, following The Proposal, in which she co-starred with Ryan Reynolds. (All About Steve, co-starring Bradley Cooper and Thomas Haden Church, was her one flop.) Bullock's last vehicle to top the $100 million mark was Miss Congeniality back in 2000. Higher ticket prices surely have helped to propel her latest releases to new heights, but just as surely (think All About Steve) they're not the only factor involved.

Wrapping this up: another movie doing well overseas is 2012, with $455.8 million thus far — compared to a relatively paltry $139.8 in North America. For some reason, trashy action-disaster flicks always do better internationally. Some know-nothing box-office expert or other should do a study on why this is so.