'New Moon' Already the Top-Selling Pre-Release Movie in the Last Decade

(L to R) Actor Taylor Lautner, actress Kristen Stewart and actor Robert Pattinson attend "Twilight Saga: New Moon" Fans Event at Palacio de Vistalegre on November 12, 2009 in Madrid, Spain. (Getty Images)more pics »The second movie in the Twilight franchise, New Moon, starring Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart, doesn't officially hit theaters until Friday, but it's already become the top-selling pre-release movie of the last decade, according to Fandango (via Deadline.com). It's destroyed records previously set by blockbusters like Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and Star Wars: Episode III.

"Twi-hards" bombard Robert Pattinson for autographs in Madrid. (Getty)
The L.A. premiere of the flick is tonight, and AP reports say  some, uh, dedicated "twi-hard" fans have been camping out since Thursday afternoon in order to secure their spot for tonight's big event. They're only allowing 800 people in, after all.

Tickets were distributed this morning, and are clearly long gone by now. Some reports say fans came from across the country hoping for New Moon tickets a whole 4 days before they can see it at home.

Those who are just going to suck it up and wait until Friday to jam-pack every movie theater in existence have already bought their tickets, apparently. Fandango reported 86 percent of their weekly ticket sales have been for the vampire flick. The midnight showing for Thursday has sold out in many cities, sources said. Theaters have reportedly increased the number of screens that will show the movie to meet the high demand.

"It's this year's most anticipated film event," Fandango COO Rick Butler said in a statement. "Ever since tickets went on sale in September, it's been among our top 5 weekly ticket-sellers, as New Moon has a strong pull on audiences. We're seeing a higher-than-usual number of tickets per transaction for this film, suggesting that moviegoers will show up en masse at theaters this weekend with their friends and family."

The take-away message from all of this: You might want to avoid movie theaters this weekend, unless, that is, you've already bought your New Moon ticket.

See more pictures of Robert Pattinson and the cast here (click any picture):

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