Summit’s “The Twilight Saga: New Moon” isn’t scheduled to hit U.S. theaters until midnight tonight, but it’s already scoring high – way high – with theaters around the globe. Here’s how the numbers shake out as of this afternoon:

Australia: 466 screens, $1.6 million
France: 751 theaters, $4.26 million
Italy: 625 screens, $2.7 million
Spain: 652 screens, $2.2 million

Most of the shows are sold out in my neck of the woods (Traverse City, Michigan), including ALL seven of the midnight showings.
Got your tickets yet?
 
Image: TM and © 2009 Summit Entertainment, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Roland Emmerich’s disaster flick “2012” starring John Cusack slayed all the other contenders at the box office this weekend.
“A Christmas Carol” came in second, with the sleeper hit “Precious” placing third. Here are the numbers from Box Office Mojo:

2012, $65.23M
A Christmas Carol, $22.30M
Precious, $5.87M
The Men Who Stare at Goats, $5.86M
Michael Jackson’s This Is It, $5.07M
The Fourth Kind, $4.60M
Couples Retreat, $4.16M
Paranormal Activity, $4.04M
Law Abiding Citizen, $3.79M
The Box, $3.15M
Pirate Radio, $2.90M
Where the Wild Things Are, $2.41M

Image: Sony Pictures Releasing

No one can ever accuse Michael Jackson of doing anything small. Even from beyond the grave, the King of Pop is breaking records.
His forthcoming tour documentary, “This Is It,” has sold out worldwide. The movie has already sold out more than 1,000 showtimes on Fandango alone, and is currently the top-selling film on Fandango, representing 27% of weekly ticket sales on the site. Experts predict it’ll bring in nearly $250,000 million dollars.
Theater owners are adding extra showtimes to meet the demand, says Fandango’s Chief Operating Officer Rick Butler. “
"At this point in the film’s sales cycle, ‘This Is …read more

Woody Harrelson’s “Zombieland” ruled the box office this weekend, with “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs” coming in second. Here’s the weekend estimates from Box Office Mojo:

Zombieland, $25M
Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, $16.7M
Toy Story / Toy Story 2 (3D), $12.5M
The Invention of Lying, $7.35M
Surrogates, $7.34M
Capitalism: A Love Story, $4.85M
Whip It, $4.85M
Fame, $4.75M
The Informant!, $3.8M
Love Happens, $2.77M
Tyler Perry’s I Can Do Bad All By Myself, $2.67M
Pandorum, $1.92M

Image: Sony Pictures Entertainment

The release of “Sherlock Holmes” is still three months away (it hits theaters Dec. 25, 2009 – I know what our traditional family Christmas movie will be this year!), but a sequel is already in the works.
I guess they’re expecting gigantic box office numbers, and I hope they’re right. Footage of the film played well at Comic-Con, so maybe they’re banking on that.  
In the new pic, Brad Pitt is in talks to star as Holmes’ nemesis Moriarty, and Warner Brothers is set to bring on Kieran and Michele Mulroney to pen the draft. They’re the writers behind …read more

Labor Day is never a good weekend to release a movie, and the top two movies brought in the usual small numbers. “The Final Destination” grossed $12.4 million, while “All About Steve” brought in $11.2 million.
Here’s the thing, though. Apparently, Fox is still pretty happy with those “All About Steve” numbers. According to Yahoo Movies, some Fox official said they were "thrilled with that number.” Apparently, they were expecting a lot less.
I expected more from the movie, awarding it only 2.5 out of 5 Geckos. It was interesting, but the trailer made it seem like it’d be …read more

It’s no surprise that "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" scored big at the box office this weekend, soaring high about all the other movies. Here’s the rundown from Box Office Mojo:

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, $77.83M
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, $17.56M
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, $13.69M
Bruno, $8.31M
The Proposal, $8.28M
The Hangover, $8.17M
Public Enemies, $7.74M
Up, $3.17M
My Sister’s Keeper, $2.82M
I Love You, Beth Cooper, $2.76M
The Taking of Pelham 123, $889,259
500 Days of Summer, $834,501

Images: TM and (c) 2009 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc

There’s no denying that "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" may be short on plot, but high on special effects action — which makes it the perfect movie for IMAX theaters. Read my review here.
The sequel from Paramount raked in an estimated five-day gross of $14.4 million on 169 IMAX screens, the largest haul ever for the big screens.
 
Directed by Michael Bay and starring Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox (though the real stars are the giant robots), the action flick earned a per screen average of $85K plus between June 24 –28, 2009.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, "Transformers" …read more

The weekend box office numbers are not all that shocking. "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" is miles ahead of everything else, with "The Proposal" coming in second, and "My Sister’s Keeper" a distant fifth.
Maybe people are like me and don’t want to go see a sad movie right now. My daughter wants to see it, and I’m just not into it! Here are the numbers from Box Office Mojo:

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, $108.96M
The Proposal, $18.57M
The Hangover, $17.02M
Up, $13.06M
My Sister’s Keeper, $12.44M
Year One, $6.02M
The Taking of Pelham 123, $5.45M
Star Trek, $3.71M
Night at the Museum: Battle of the …read more

“The Hangover” is a smart, funny movie, and audiences are liking it, too. The buddy flick scored high at the box office this weekend, even though it’s been out for two weeks. Here’s the rundown from Box Office Mojo:

The Hangover, $32.79M
Up, $30.76M
The Taking of Pelham 123, $23.37M
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, $9.61M
Land of the Lost, $8.99M
Imagine That, $5.50M
Star Trek, $5.45M
Terminator: Salvation, $4.78M
Angels & Demons, $4.11M
Drag Me to Hell, $3.93M

Images: TM and (c) 2008 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.