New Moon opening night: From Britain to China, fans are going crazy

She says it's all about the storyline. "[It] has that kind of a hook to it that makes you want to read all the books," she says. "There's not a lot of stories about girls falling in love with a vampire."

Vampire tradition required?

Vampire mythology does not resonate everywhere, of course. In Israel, for example, several movie websites said nothing about the film or when it will come out, and one fan website, while full of trivia about "Twilight" characters, actors, and places, had not been updated since September. David Brinn, senior editor and culture writer for The Jerusalem Post, says the film genre doesn't play too well in the country. "Israelis get enough thrills in daily life – and in their army experience – as to be a bit blase about horror and supernatural films," he says.

But in other countries – even if new to the vampire experience – it's a powerful lure.

China, for example, has no literary tradition of vampires, aside from a few 17th-century short stories about a blood-sucking variety of ghosts. Still, "Twilight" has swept young Chinese women off their feet.

"I would say over 60 percent of the readers are middle school and high school girls," says Chang Xiaowu, deputy marketing director of Jieli, the publishing house that bought the Chinese rights. "Edward [Cullen] is a vampire, he is dangerous. Girls love to fall in love with this kind of dangerous boyfriend."

Edward's appeal reaches beyond teenagers here, though. Many of his fans are young women in their twenties. "He is supposed to be the evil one, but actually he is a good person," says Sun Junmei, a 26-year-old financial consultant in Beijing who downloaded audio versions of three of the books.

But is he too good?

In India, where the series has sold 270,000 copies, although the books have not been translated into local Indian languages, "New Moon" will be released on some 150 screens in English, Hindi, Tamil, and Telegu.

"Edward is a bit annoying because he's so monotonous and so repetitive," says Ritisha, the 15-year-old who launched the online petition. "I mean, no one can be that perfect."

Ben Arnoldy in New Delhi, Scott Baldauf in Johannesburg, Zhang Yajun in Beijing, Robert Marquand in Paris, and Ilene R. Prusher in Jerusalem contributed to this report.

Also:

New Moon opening night: South Africa teen says 'it has it all'

New Moon opening night: In India, a teen's online petition brings series to the big screen

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