THE TWILIGHT SAGA: NEW MOON DEVOURS THE MIDNIGHT MARKET

Friday 20th November 2009…….The second instalment of Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight series opened in the UK and Ireland at 12.01am and has broken the all-time midnight opening record for a film with a staggering £486,210 box office.

Tens of thousands of fans flocked to the cinema as it played at midnight in selected venues only. 134 screenings were sell outs and 88 of those were from the Vue circuit alone.

The film which has also broken the record for advance sales in the UK and Ireland as reported by the three leading cinema chains – Vue, Odeon and Cineworld – is released on a massive 1100 screens today.

Head of Film at E1 Entertainment Alex Hamilton comments, ‘We are very excited and encouraged by this fantastic result and can’t wait to see what the rest of the weekend brings.  We’d like to also take this opportunity to thank the fans for their incredible support in growing the franchise and their part in making the films a worldwide phenomenon.’

Tim Richards, CEO of Vue Entertainment adds, ‘These were the largest attended midnight shows we have ever done.  We were adding extra shows right up to the last moment to cope with the demand.  We are now looking forward to a busy weekend for the movie.’

THE TWILIGHT SAGA: NEW MOON sees the romance between mortal and vampire soar to a new level as Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) tests fate for a glimpse of her vampire love, Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson). As she plumbs deep into the mysteries of the supernatural world that she yearns to become part of, she discovers a pair of ancient secrets that put her at more peril than ever before.

With more of the passion, action and suspense that made TWILIGHT a smash hit, THE TWILIGHT SAGA: NEW MOON is a spellbinding follow-up to the international box office phenomenon.