‘New Moon’ wolfs down $140.7M in opening weekend

? The vampire romance “The Twilight Saga: New Moon” sucked up $140.7 million in its first three days and pulled in a total of $258.8 million worldwide, according to studio estimates Sunday.

The No. 1 domestic debut for Summit Entertainment’s “New Moon” was more than twice the $69.6 million haul over the same weekend last year for “Twilight,” the first in the franchise based on Stephenie Meyer’s novels.

“New Moon” placed third on the all-time domestic chart behind last year’s $158.4 million opening weekend for the Batman blockbuster “The Dark Knight” and 2007’s $151.1 million haul for “Spider-Man 3.”

Among the top-10 all-time openings, “New Moon” is the only one that came outside of Hollywood’s busiest time, the summer season. The movie adaptation of Meyer’s next “Twilight” chapter, “Eclipse,” arrives in the heart of summer, next June 30.

On Friday, “New Moon” set an all-time domestic high for opening day with $72.7 million, topping the previous record of $67.2 million by last year’s “The Dark Knight.”

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com.

  1. “The Twilight Saga: New Moon,” $140.7 million.

  2. “The Blind Side,” $34.5 million.

  3. “2012,” $26.5 million.

  4. “Planet 51,” $12.6 million.

  5. “Disney’s A Christmas Carol,” $12.2 million.

  6. “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire,” $11 million.

  7. “The Men Who Stare at Goats,” $2.8 million.

  8. “Couples Retreat,” $2 million.

  9. “The Fourth Kind,” $1.7 million.

  10. “Law Abiding Citizen,” $1.6 million.