There's good news and bad news this weekend. The good news is that Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest is no longer one of the top three biggest opening movies of all time. The bad news is, it was replaced by lullaby humming emo vampires and werewolves cast for their muscle tone, not their acting abilities.

I'll admit to having read Stephenie Meyer's Twilight Saga. I'll even admit to having enjoyed most of the four book series. But, as books go they really don't have much to offer for a movie maker except undeliverably whiny teenage inner monologue and opportunities for Abercrombie and Fitch product placement. And yet, despite the fact that only 3 out of 10 critics thought the movie was any good, audiences turned out to hand over enough cash to make New Moon the film with the third highest grossing domestic debut ever.

Easily number one over the weekend, New Moon banked an estimated $140 million, twice what its predecessor Twilight opened to last year. That total includes a record opening day total of $73 million, supplanting the record perciously held by The Dark Knight. It also broke the record for highest midnight showing, raking in a total of $26 million from fans desperate to be among the first to see the movie.

The other two new releases this weekend paled in the vampire/werewolf shadow. The latest based-on-a-true-story feel good drama to roll out, The Blind Side, earned a very distant second place with $34 million while animated Planet 51 flopped into fourth place, only banking $12 million. For the full weekend top ten details check out the chart below:

1. The Twilight Saga: New Moon * $140,700,000  -  Total: $140,700,000 LW: N     WR: 1     THTRS: 4,024

2. The Blind Side * $34,510,000  -  Total: $34,510,000 LW: N     WR: 1     THTRS: 3,110

3. 2012 $26,500,000  -  Total: $108,221,000 LW: 1     WR: 2     THTRS: 3,408

4. Planet 51 * $12,600,000  -  Total: $12,600,000 LW: N     WR: 1     THTRS: 3,035

5. A Christmas Carol (2009) $12,230,000  -  Total: $79,791,000 LW: 2     WR: 3     THTRS: 3,578

6. Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire $11,008,000  -  Total: $21,403,000 LW: 3     WR: 3     THTRS: 629

7. The Men Who Stare at Goats $2,773,000  -  Total: $27,624,000 LW: 4     WR: 3     THTRS: 2,056

8. Couples Retreat $1,952,000  -  Total: $105,001,000 LW: 7     WR: 7     THTRS: 1,712

9. The Fourth Kind $1,730,000  -  Total: $23,343,000 LW: 6     WR: 3     THTRS: 1,648

10. Law Abiding Citizen $1,615,000  -  Total: $70,027,000 LW: 9     WR: 6     THTRS: 1,327