THE Twilight Saga: New Moon has shattered the US box office record for midnight openings, grossing a massive $26.3 million after its 12:01am Friday debut.

The figure easily beats the previous record of $22.2 million held by Harry Potter & The Half-Blood Prince earlier this summer, as well as setting new standards for a female-driven franchise.

Distributor Summit Entertainment will now be looking to see if the vampire sequel – starring Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson – can beat the best-ever opening day for a movie, held by Batman movie The Dark Knight with $67.2 million.

But whatever happens, the film is easily on course to surpass the $36 million earned by its own predecessor, Twilight, on its first Friday exactly a year ago.

Likewise, while Twilight’s opening weekend total was $69.7 million, New Moon is well on course to beat it with another record already achieved for advance ticket sales.

Read our review of New Moon

Next story: Mia Wasikowska in talks for Jane Eyre

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