'New Moon' Breaking Records Even Before Premiere

From movieblog.mtv.com:

Surprised? Don't be. "New Moon" is big news. When "Twilight" hit theaters almost a year ago, no one really expected it to grow into the phenomenon its become. This Friday though, that's the real litmus test.

"Twilight" did almost $70 million in its opening weekend last year, comparable to the past weekend's "2012," which brought in $65 million. While it certainly isn't a bad opening, the phenomenon feels bigger than that. Maybe it's because, working at MTV, I'm constantly inundated with "Twilight" coverage. Whatever the reason, "New Moon"'s weekend earnings will offer additional insight to just how large Stephenie Meyer's series has become. We already have a pretty good idea, by way of Fandango.
The word from the online ticket retailer, via Deadline Hollywood, is that "New Moon" has surpassed the competition to become their number one advance ticket seller of all time. It's interesting to note that, of the other four movies, three were released this year or last: "Twilight" (#5), "The Dark Knight" (#4) and "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" (#3). "Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith" (#2) hit theaters in 2005 and was the previous title-holder. But "New Moon" has now even bested the long-awaited reveal of Anakin Skywalker's transformation into Darth Vader.

As the Dark Lord himself might say, most impressive.

You can find all manner of stats over on Deadline Hollywood, which apparently got an exclusive on Fandango's weekly press release. My favorite stat: 10% of those polled plan to show up to the theater dressed as a character. We "Star Wars" fans at least have you Twilighters beat there!