Summit Entertainment, after reviewing the numbers Twilight has produced so far, made the announcement this morning saying that the next film in the series, called New Moon, will hit theaters November 20th, 2009.
Twilight was release November 21st 2008, so Summit hopes the reaction to New Moon will be the same as its first film.
New Moon is scheduled to start filming in March 2009.
The Twilight series looks as if it’s replacing the Harry Potter series, whose films usually open the week of Thanksgiving, but the only film that is thus far dedicated to the release week isn’t until 2010.
Summit believes it caught a lucky break when Warner Bros. decided to push back the release of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince from Thanksgiving 2008 to summer 2009.
Through Sunday, Twilight‘s domestic total gross was $150 million.
With four books in the series, the Twilight saga looks to be the next big thing.
Also slated to open on November 20th, 2009, are Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes, Planet 51 and MGM’s untitled “Three Stooges” project.
Chris Weitz recently signed on to New Moon, taking over for the first film’s director, Catherine Hardwicke.
