3M 'Twilight' DVDs sold last weekend

LOS ANGELES, March 23 (UPI) -- Summit Entertainment says more than 3 million copies of its "Twilight" DVD were sold in the United States during the weekend.

The DVD release began at 12:01 a.m. Saturday.

Thousands of fans across the country took part in a "Twilight at Midnight" promotional program, which allowed participating retailers the opportunity to stay open late as fans lined up to buy the DVD, Summit said Sunday.

Some enthusiasts were even treated to appearances by the movie's director and cast members.

About 2,500 fans turned out in Salt Lake City to see Rachelle Lefevre, who plays Victoria; 2,000 showed up in Los Angeles to see Ashley Greene, who plays Alice Cullen; more than 1,000 fans came out to see director Catherine Hardwicke in Dallas; 700 fans lined up in New York for Edi Gathegi, who plays Laurent; and 500 fans in Chicago saw Nikki Reed, who plays Rosalie Hale.

With more than 3 million DVD units sold, "Twilight" enters the top five best first-day DVD releases in the past two years, along with "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End," "The Dark Knight," "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" and "Transformers," Summit said.

"The Saturday release in conjunction with the groundbreaking retail events across the country have proven to be overwhelmingly successful, which, in turn, benefited 'Twilight' fans, as well as our retail partners," Summit Entertainment's co-chairmen Rob Friedman and Patrick Wachsberger said in a statement.