'New Moon' Sells Over 4M DVDs in First Weekend and surpass 'Twilight'

"New Moon" sank its teeth into the DVD sales chart over the weekend, leaving its predecessor, "Twilight" in the dust.

"New Moon" sold just over 4 million DVDs in its first weekend of release, Summit Entertainment announced on Tuesday. The vampire sequel's opening numbers bested the first weekend sales of "Twilight," which moved 3.8 million DVDs. It went on to be the top selling DVD title of 2009 with 9.2 million units sold.

“Once again the incredibly dedicated fans of the Twilight Saga came out in massive numbers this weekend for the opportunity to be one of the first take home the second movie in the series," Summit Entertainment’s Co-Chairmen Rob Friedman and Patrick Wachsberger said in a joint statement. " As we have said all along, the fans are what make this franchise and we once again thank them for their support.”

To gin up enthusiasm for the release, Summit arranged for a series of midnight launch parties at some of the 7,000 retailers carrying the movie nationwide that featured the film's cast and director Chris Weitz. Among the cast members appearing at launch parties were Peter Facinelli, who plays Dr. Carlisle Cullen, and Nikki Reed, who plays Rosalie Hale.

Sadly, for the hormonal teen girls who make up a large chunk of the films' audiences, Taylor Lautner and Robert Pattinson were not on hand at any of the midnight events.

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