'The Twilight Saga: New Moon' will likely sell about $90 million worth of tickets this weekend and could possibly exceed $100 million, according to surveys of potential filmgoers, making it the No. 2 debut of the year behind 'Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.' The first 'Twilight' movie opened to $69.6 million on the same weekend in 2008. Since then, interest in the series has only grown, driven in part by its DVD, the year's top-seller. Pre-release 'tracking' research shows that adult women are more interested in 'New Moon' than in its predecessor, while teenage and 'tween girls are as fanatical as ever. Industry expectations are running so high for 'New Moon' that it could become one of the few movies this year, along with megahits like 'Paranormal Activity' and 'The Hangover,' to earn a profit just from ticket sales and not have to wait for DVD and other post-theatrical markets, as is usual. Summit Entertainment spent just under $50 million to produce the movie. Early returns from some foreign countries where 'New Moon' opened Thursday are phenomenal, already totaling $10.9 million. According to Summit, opening-day grosses in France were $4.4 million, almost four times as much as the debut of 'Twilight.' In Italy and Spain, it had the third highest Wednesday opening ever, collecting $2.7 million and $2.2 million, respectively. Midnight screenings in Australia grossed $1.6 million, a new record for the country. Total receipts from the 25 international territories where 'New Moon' is opening this weekend will add tens of millions more to its weekend total. Brazil, France, Italy, Mexico and the United Kingdom were particularly profitable markets for the first 'Twilight' movie. As with the 2008 picture, early showings are expected to be particularly lucrative. Online ticket sellers Fandango and MovieTickets.com both report that 'New Moon' is the No. 1 advance seller of all time, a reflection not only of overall interest, but of the intense desire of many fans to see the picture on its opening weekend. 'New Moon' could easily break the $22.2 million record for midnight screenings set this summer by 'Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.' A total of 3,514 theaters, 87 percent of the 4,024 total playing it this weekend played it late Thursday. Midnight ticket sales will get a boost from Summit's decision to re-release the original 'Twilight' in 2,057 theaters, about half as many as will start showing 'New Moon' on Friday. Many locations created a double-screening event in which fans came to watch 'Twilight' and stayed for 'New Moon,' generating even more money for the franchise in the process. The total Friday gross will likely be huge, followed by a big drop on Saturday. The first 'Twilight' saw ticket sales decline 41 percent the day after it launched. It also experienced a substantial 62 percent drop on its second weekend despite the fact that the Friday after Thanksgiving is a holiday. If the new movie follows the same path as the first, however, it's all but certain to ultimately gross more than $200 million in the U.S. and Canada and about the same amount from foreign countries. 