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'New Moon' sets midnight sales record

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 21 (UPI) -- "New Moon," the "Twilight" vampire movie sequel, broke the U.S. record for midnight ticket sales with $26.3 million, a distributor said.

Distributor Summit Entertainment said the horror film's gross sales from Thursday night's grand opening in Canada and the United States set a record and helped put it on pace to set a record for the highest single-day domestic ticket sales, the Los Angeles Times reported Saturday.

Several film industry officials said "New Moon" ticket sales for Friday would likely be more than $70 million, the Times said. Such a total would put it ahead of the current single-day domestic ticket sales king, "The Dark Knight" with $67.2 million.

"New Moon," based on a book by author Stephenie Meyer, is also expected to enjoy the highest domestic weekend gross for a 2009 film with a predicted weekend gross of more than $110 million.

The Times said that weekend tally could be increased to more than $150 million once ticket sales from 25 other countries showing it are added.

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Christmas scripts for 'EastEnders' stolen

LONDON, Nov. 21 (UPI) -- Scripts for the special Christmas episodes of "EastEnders" were stolen from the home of one of the British TV series' writers, the BBC reports.

"EastEnders" executive producer Diederick Santer said files containing "the twists and turns of our exciting 'EastEnders' Christmas" were on a laptop computer taken from the writer's home, the BBC reported Friday.

The plot lines of the soap opera's Christmas editions have been a closely guarded secret with series actors destroying their scripts following filming to avoid leaks to the media.

The series' annual Christmas Day specials are a major ratings draw in Britain and have previously been used to unveil vital show secrets.

The BBC said the 2007 holiday episode revealed a long-running affair between two series characters, Max and his daughter-in-law Stacey.

The 2007 special earned the highest ratings for the entire year, drawing in 14 million viewers.

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Lady Gaga signs onto Royal Variety show

BLACKPOOL, England, Nov. 21 (UPI) -- U.S. singer Lady Gaga will be among the stars performing for Britain's Queen Elizabeth II at the upcoming Royal Variety Performance.

The BBC reported Friday the "Poker Face" singer will join fellow singers Miley Cyrus, Bette Midler and Michael Buble at the Dec. 7 performance at the Opera House in Blackpool, Britain.

The annual event, which benefits the Entertainment Artists' Benevolent Fund, will be hosted by comedian Peter Kay.

The BBC said the queen and her husband Prince Philip will also watch a performance by the urban dance group Diversity, which won the right to perform at the Royal Variety show by winning the TV series "Britain's Got Talent."

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Singer Madden says Richie out of hospital

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 21 (UPI) -- Ex-reality TV star Nicole Richie is out of a Los Angeles hospital and at home recovering from pneumonia, her boyfriend, Good Charlotte singer Joel Madden, says.

Writing on the Good Charlotte Web site Friday, Madden said he delayed recording vocals for a new album to spend time with Richie at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

"So I stepped off the plane after a month out of the country, and basically went straight to the hospital for the week," Madden, 30, said. "But don't worry, all is well and we are home with no problems."

Richie, who once appeared in "The Simple Life," said on the social networking service Twitter last weekend she was prepared for her bout with pneumonia to end, People.com reported.

"Ok cold, it's been 6 days. Lets part ways graciously & keep it moving," Richie, 28, posted on Twitter last Sunday.