[_____V_____]

The fangirls have outdone the fanboys: The Twilight sequel New Moon had a huge opening weekend at the box office, scoring the biggest first day ever and knocking The Dark Knight off its bat-perch along the way.

The film made $72.7 million -- including midnight grosses -- on Friday, giving the second Twilight the best opening day in history. The Dark Knight only made $67.2 million on its first Friday, and that was in the summer.

New Moon also had the third-best weekend opening of all time with $140.7 million domestically, plus $118.1 million internationally -- giving the film a worldwide opening total of $258.8 million. (The Dark Knight at $158.4 million and Spider-Man 3 at $151.1 million remain the top two single-weekend earners in North America.) The picture grossed nearly twice what its predecessor made last year, proving that the Twilight fanbase is only growing -- and that female audiences are ready to fork over their dollars just as male audiences are, as long as Hollywood gives them what they want.

"This blew away a lot of preconceived notions about who you should play to, and how you get to a certain group," said Summit's Richie Fay, via Variety.

UPDATE: The final numbers have been tallied and it turns out New Moon made even more than was originally estimated, coming in at $142.8 million domestically and $124.1 million internationally for the weekend.

So, in the end, Edward Cullen kicked Batman's butt.