The latest chapter of the vampire saga, which has made pinup stars of its actors Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner, is behind only The Dark Knight's $158.4 million and Spider-Man 3's $151.1 million.

From its midnight Thursday opening, Moon was headed for the record books. The film did $26.3 million in midnight screenings, shattering the record of $18.5 million held by Knight.

By midnight Friday, Moon had broken the single-day record with $72.7 million, again eclipsing Knight with $67.2 million.

The movie did another $118.1 million overseas.

While the Twilight films have never wowed critics — just 29% of reviewers recommended Moon, according to RottenTomatoes.com — the franchise has been critic-proof, particularly among women, who made up 80% of the audience.

Moon and the other Twilight film, and books by Stephenie Meyer, have enjoyed a rare fan base of females ranging from pre-teens to grandmothers. And teen boys, who have been turning out for werewolves and vampires since Abbott met Costello, made up most of the other moviegoers.

"There's something wholesome in these movies that is getting mothers to take their daughters with them," says Richie Fay, distribution chief of Summit Entertainment, which released Moon. "Or maybe it's the other way around."

The next film, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, arrives in theaters June 20. Fay says that while there is no agreement yet to produce the fourth adaptation, Breaking Dawn, "we're working very closely with Meyer" on closing the deal.

The only question now is how high Moon rises. Twilight did $193 million in North America, a mark Moon should shatter even with the typical dropoffs weekend to weekend.

The monsters gave the box office a needed boost this weekend. Sandra Bullock's The Blind Side exceeded projections with a second-place debut of $34.5 million.

The cataclysmic thriller 2012 was third with $26.5 million, lifting its 10-day total to $108.2 million.

Dwayne Johnson's animated comedy Planet 51 met expectations with $12.6 million, while A Christmas Carol was fifth with $12.2 million.

Ticket sales soared 98% over last week and 59% over the same weekend last year.

Final figures are due Monday.