The Dark Knight may have had a lot of things going for it, but it didn't have Taylor Lautner's abs. Aided by a cuh-cuh-crazy gross from midnight shows on Thursday, The Twilight Saga: New Moon absolutely decimated the previous opening day record of $67.2 million set by The Dark Knight, banking $72.7 million from less screens and less theaters. Can it break Knight's all-time opening weekend record, $158.4 million? To be continued...
Full figures, after the jump:
THE TWILIGHT SAGA: NEW MOON: $72,700,000 (new)
THE BLIND SIDE: $10,920,000 (new)
2012: $8,100,000 ($89,821,000)
PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL "PUSH" BY SAPPHIRE: $3,600,000 ($13,996,000)
PLANET 51: $3,150,000 (new)
A CHRISTMAS CAROL: $3,000,000 ($70,561,000)
THE MEN WHO STARE AT GOATS: $860,000 ($25,711,000)
THE FOURTH KIND: $610,000 ($22,223,000)
COUPLES RETREAT: $555,000 ($103,604,000)
LAW ABIDING CITIZEN: $495,000 ($68,907,000)