Actors Taylor Lautner and Kristen Stewart arrive at The Twilight Saga: New Moon premiere in Westwood, Calif. Monday, Nov. 16, 2009. (THE ASSOCIATED PRESS/Matt Sayles)

LOS ANGELES - The vampire romance "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" sucked up $140.7 million in its first three days and pulled in a total of $258.8 million worldwide, according to studio estimates Sunday.

The No. 1 domestic debut for Summit Entertainment's "New Moon" was more than twice the $69.6 million haul over the same weekend last year for "Twilight," the first in the franchise based on Stephenie Meyer's novels.

"New Moon" placed third on the all-time domestic chart behind last year's $158.4 million opening weekend for the Batman blockbuster "The Dark Knight" and 2007's $151.1 million haul for "Spider-Man 3."

On Friday, "New Moon" set an all-time domestic high for opening day with $72.7 million, topping the previous record of $67.2 million had been held by last year's "The Dark Knight.

Overseas, "New Moon" debuted in 25 countries and took in $118.1 million.

"New Moon" continues the story of teen romance between a school girl and a vampire (Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson), with the sequel adding a love triangle with a teen werewolf (Taylor Lautner).

Opening at No. 2 this weekend was the Warner Bros. football drama "The Blind Side" with $34.5 million.

The previous weekend's top movie, Sony's disaster tale "2012," slipped to third-place with $26.5 million, raising its domestic total to $108.2 million.