Twilight New Moon tops record US holiday box office

New Moon stars Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson

Teen vampire sequel The Twilight Saga: New Moon drew in the crowds over a record-breaking holiday weekend to keep its grip on top of the US box office.

The film, which stars British actor Robert Pattinson, took $42.5m (£25.7m).

Coming close on its heels was real-life drama The Blind Side, which recounts the story of a homeless boy's rise to the top of his sport.

Total takings of $275m (£166.6m) broke a previous record set in 2000 for the five-day Thanksgiving period.

US BOX OFFICE TOP FIVE

1. The Twilight Saga: New Moon - $42.5m

2. The Blind Side - $40.1m

3. 2012 - $18m

4. Old Dogs - $16.8m

5. Disney's A Christmas Carol - $16m

Source: Hollywood.com

Then, Dr Suess' How The Grinch Stole Christmas and M Night Shyamalan thriller Unbreakable were among the chart-toppers, and takings were $244.4m (£147.9m).

Third in this week's chart was end-of-the-world blockbuster 2012, which raked in $18m (£10.8m).

Among the new releases for the weekend was family comedy Old Dogs, starring Robin Williams and John Travolta, which entered at number four.

Thriller The Ninja Assassin, featuring Korean pop star Rain, was a new entry at number six, with $13.1m (£7.9m).

New Moon, based on the best-selling books by Stephenie Meyer, has so far taken $230.7m (139.4m) in the 10 days since it opened, surpassing the entire takings of its predecessor, Twilight, by $40m (£24.1m)