New Moon rises in movie-goers' skies

By: Genea Smith

Posted: 12/9/09

It seems everyone must know the story by now. A stay-at-home mother has a
dream, then writes a book about it. The book is Twilight, and the mother - turned -
author is Stephenie Meyer. She wrote a series including New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn to accompany Twilight. Little could Meyer have known that this was just the beginning.

In case you are one of the very few who, by some wild chance, has not heard about the Twilight saga, it's basically a story centered on a love triangle. A teenage girl, Bella, has a friend named Jacob. Jacob is in love with Bella, but Bella is in love with Edward. Jacob is a werewolf, and Edward a vampire. Sound a little ridiculous? Nonetheless, it's a hit.

New Moon closed out its opening weekend with an estimated $275 million. That makes
New Moon the third biggest opener in Hollywood history, and the sixth highest in its worldwide debut.

Ammie Heineck is a sales and event planner for Marcus Theaters. According to Heineck, people started lining up at the Majestic Cinema in Brookfield by 2 p.m. for the midnight showing. By 5 p.m., there was an estimated 1,400 people in the building waiting to get seated. At 10 p.m. the theater crawled with 1,634 fans.

The feeling of excitement was still in the air at 11:30 a.m. the next day. People seemed panicked to park and rushed inside. One of the theaters for the 12:15 p.m. showing was already more than half full; people's faces were full of anticipation. They could barely sit still and had to wait another half-hour before the movie was to begin.

Movie-goer Lynn Simmons explained the Twilight phenomenon by saying people needed something to get excited about, and this is a thrilling love story-appealing to both men and women. She is right on. Attendees included mothers, young girls, older people, and, surprisingly, a few men who gave excuses such as "my wife dragged me in to see it." In fact, a group of six men from GE Healthcare attended, just to mention a few.

What might help explain people's fascination with this wildly popular book and movie series? Those interviewed boiled it down to one factor-supporting Team Edward or Team Jacob. Love and competition-two things movie-goers find irresistible.