New Moon rising

Writer: Ezekiel Lee Zhiang Yang

Ashley Greene plays Alice Cullen in "New Moon"

23 Nov – The buzzword on everyone's lips right now is "New Moon" because online tracker Box Office Mojo has reported that the Twilight sequel has smashed many box office records in the U.S. including single-day takings and midnight takings, not to mention now coming in as the third best opening weekend of all time in North America behind "The Dark Knight" and "Spider-Man 3".

While the disaster epic "2012" still ruled the regional box office in Singapore and Malaysia for the weekend just gone (Nov 19-22), the imminent release of "New Moon" will herald a new chart-topper, just as it was when the first instalment of the vampire romancer opened within the same frame this time last year to tremendous commercial reception.

Kristen Stewart promoting "New Moon" at a recent premiere

According to distributor Shaw Organisation in Singapore, the second installment of the Stephanie Meyer's Twilight franchise will have special sneak previews islandwide this week, from 26 November to 29 November 2009. "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" opens in Singapore next week on 3 December 2009. Meanwhile, in Malaysia, the movie opens this week on 26 November 2009.

Clocking 2 hours 10 minutes on the runtime, "New Moon" recasts Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner and Kristen Stewart, while introducing a love triangle and plenty of new characters, especially a tribe of vampire royalty named the Volturi.

Producers Summit Entertainment had announced the third movie "Eclipse" back in February 2009 for a worldwide release come June 2010.