'The Twilight Saga: New Moon' opens in Brownsville

Whether Twilight mania is driven by lust, passion or just hunky wolves— excuse me, shapeshifters— shedding their shirts on screen, die-hard fans hit theaters midnight Thursday for "The Twilight Saga: New Moon," the latest Hollywood adaptation of Stephanie Meyer’s vampire romance series.

Nearly a week before "New Moon" opened in theaters, movie ticket outlets were reporting the film accounted for 90 percent of all ticket sales and had sold out showtimes in thousands of cities and towns nationwide — Brownsville included.

At Cinemark Sunrise Mall, the midnight showing played on seven screens, all sold out shows. And some fans waited outside the theaters since the dawn hours to get good seats for the premier. Some moms even took out their children out of school early to sit and wait for the movie.

"Everyone thinks it is ridiculous to wait here all day, but I think it is fun," said 17-year-old Ashley Silva, who came to the mall with a friend as soon as classes let out for the day.

Melissa Perez, who describes herself as a Twi-mom, sat with dozens of others in line Thursday evening, playing a Twilight board game with friends.

"I wanted a full screen of Edward in my face," said 26-year-old Perez, who works as a biochemist in McAllen. "It sounds gross, but it is true."

Directed by Chris Weitz, the film brings back Kristin Stewart, as the bookish Bella in love with steamy vampire Edward, played by Robert Pattinson. To 19-year-old Erica Mata, the series is such a hit among young women because Bella’s character is easy to relate to, she said.

"She is not some beauty queen. She is just a small-town girl, " said Mata, a student at the University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College.

But it was not just girls, young women and their mothers who waited for hours outside of the theater, boys and young men were there, too. Jimmy Margenau, 21, and his friends were the first in line and had been waiting since 3 a.m.

The film shows "a different aspect of vampires from the old myth," he said. "They don’t drink blood or are afraid of garlic."