The film stars Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, and Taylor Lautner, reprising their roles as Bella Swan, Edward Cullen, and Jacob Black, respectively.

It set domestic box office records as the biggest midnight opening in the United States and Canada, grossing $26.3 million, which was superseded by its sequel, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse.

This led to the highest single-day domestic gross on an opening day, with $72.7 million,[12] until it was beaten by Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 (2011).

In Forks, Washington, on Bella Swan's eighteenth birthday, she awakens from a dream in which she is an old woman and Edward Cullen, her immortal vampire boyfriend, is forever young.

When Bella hikes to the meadow that she and Edward often visit, she is confronted by Laurent seeking to avenge the Cullens' past killing of James.

In early November 2008, Summit Entertainment obtained the film adaptation rights to the remaining novels in the Twilight book series, New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn.

[38] Weitz released a statement shortly after the announcement, assuring fans that he would "protect on their behalf the characters, [the] themes and story they love."

"[44] In late March 2009, Summit Entertainment released a list of the actors who would be portraying the "wolf pack" alongside Lautner.

[7] Weitz envisioned a warm color palette for the sequel, contrary to the first film in the series, whose blue tones were prevalent.

[48] His intention resulted in golden tones, a change that was inspired by Italian paintings, and ultimately served as the basis for the crew's collaborative work.

[53] The production team agreed to find a house in the Vancouver area with an interior that emulated the high ceilings, glass walls, and forest surroundings of the first location.

[56] Initially bordered by a green fence, the decision of painting the barn, aging it, and renovating the exterior proved to be a layout that fit well with Jacob's character.

[60] Initially what was a huge battle with vampires being thrown everywhere turned into a one-on-one fight between Felix and Edward, after receiving a stamp of approval from Meyer.

[60] Overseeing the visual effects department for New Moon was Susan MacLeod, who had previously worked with Weitz during the production of The Golden Compass.

[61] MacLeod enlisted Tippett Studio to create the computer-generated wolves, while Prime Focus of Vancouver handled the effects of the vampires.

Since the book described the wolves as being as big as horses, full-scale aluminum and board wolf cutouts were used as a visual reference for both actors and crew members.

[63] In order for the CG wolves to be in sync with the live-action cameras and actors' movements, the team used match movers, a land surveying tool that recorded the shooting location's topography with reference marks.

In the novel, these pages were filled with the names of the passing months, and in the movie, would be represented as a visual effects shot with a camera circling around Kristen Stewart.

[66] The Twilight Saga: New Moon: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack was released on October 16, 2009,[67] by Patsavas's Chop Shop label, in conjunction with Atlantic Records.

[76] American Idol finalist Allison Iraheta hosted an 8-minute block prior to the showing of the film in over 1,200 theaters across the United States, where she talked about her upcoming album and played some tracks, including "Friday I'll Be Over U", "Pieces", and "Trouble Is".

[80] The film is also the biggest advance ticket seller on Fandango, surpassing Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith.

[15][82] Special features include an audio commentary by director Chris Weitz and editor Peter Lambert, a behind-the-scenes documentary, and music videos.

[16] New Moon set records as the biggest midnight opening in domestic (United States and Canada) box office history, grossing an estimated $26.3 million in 3,514 theaters.

[12] This opening strongly contributed to another record—the first time that the Top 10 films at the domestic box office had a combined gross of over $100 million in a single day.

The site's general consensus is that "The Twilight Saga's second installment may satisfy hardcore fans of the series, but outsiders are likely to be turned off by its slow pace, relentlessly downcast tone and excessive length.

"[100] The Seattle Post-Intelligencer gave the film a "B" grading and said, "the movie looks tremendous, the dialogue works, there are numerous well-placed jokes, the acting is on point.

"[102] Jordan Mintzer from Variety stated, "Stewart is the heart and soul of the film", and added that she "gives both weight and depth to dialogue…that would sound like typical chick-lit blather in the mouth of a less engaging actress, and she makes Bella's psychological wounds seem like the real deal.

He also excused the film's characterization of Taylor Lautner's character, saying, "The sight of the buff, young guys running through the forest with their tops off was slightly smirk-inducing.

"[104] Mick Lasalle from the San Francisco Chronicle responded with a more mixed review, stating, "[E]xpect this film to satisfy its fans.

[106] Roger Ebert gave the film 1 star out of 4 and said that it "takes the tepid achievement of Twilight, guts it, and leaves it for undead.