娱乐英语新闻:"New Moon" kept dominance of N America box office chart

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 29 (Xinhua) -- Taking advantage of wide expectation and lingering loyalty to the original film of "The Twilight Saga," the sequel "New Moon" has kept the No. 1 billing at the North America box office with a haul of 42.5 million dollars over three days beginning on Black Friday, latest projection suggested Sunday.

Entering into the second-week screening in Canada and the United States, the vampire romance is expected to fetch 231 million dollars in combined ticket sales, the North America box office authorities estimated. In the meantime, ever increasing number of merrymaking moviegoers in the region has "obliterated" the previous record by buying 278 million dollars worth of tickets, or an increase of 34 million dollars over the five-day Thanksgiving holiday last year, representing an 8.7 percent increase in studio revenue this year.

Actor Robrt Pattinson, star of the new film "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" poses at the film's Los Angeles premiere November 16, 2009

    A Summit Entertainment production that based on a series of four novels by author Stephenie Meyer, "New Moon" is directed by Chris Weitz instead of Catherine Hardwicke in the first installment. However, the movie is exceptionally faithful to the 2008 beginnings. The success of the teen romance is originated from the big-effort promotion by the Summit Entertainment that saw major actors and actresses making a pitch in 15 major cities across North America.

Actress Kristen Stewart, star of the new film "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" poses at the film's Los Angeles premiere November 16, 2009

The second place of the chart also remained unchanged, with "The Blind Side" featuring Sandra Bullock garnering three-day sales of 40.1 million dollars. A drama sports film about an American football player that was made by privately owned Alcon Entertainment and distributed by Warner's Bros., the flick is estimated to make a haul of 57.5 million dollars over five days during the Thanksgiving holiday. Its two-week sales total will surpass 100 million dollars, according to estimates.

    Rounding out the top five are:

    No.3: "2012," Sony/Columbia, 18 million this weekend, 138.8 million dollars in three weeks;

    No.4: "Old Dogs," Disney, opening with 16.8 million dollars this weekend;

    No.5: "Disney's A Christmas Tale," Disney, 16 million dollars this weekend, 105.4 million dollars over four weeks.