Black Friday is the official kick-off for the holiday shopping season. Thousands of sleep deprived, but eager bargain hunters stormed the stores, malls, and outlet centers before dawn today — traditionally the biggest shopping day of the year. Cash registers were ringing all day long and into the evening giving the appearance of strong Black Friday sales. Nevertheless, it’s going to take a few days before retailers know if this is going to be a jolly season for them.
At this early stage, there is one clear gift winner: The Twilight Saga. At the top of the list of a lot of die hard fans of teenager Bella Swan and her vampire lover, Edward Cullen, are the Barbie dolls created in the image of the fictional couple. The limited edition dolls went on sale this month.
Meanwhile, the second movie based on the “Twilight” novels blew-up gigantic at the Box Office last week. “New Moon” made $143 million in this country alone last weekend and earned an estimated $40-50 million more by the end of the day on Thanksgiving.
Now moviegoers and book lovers are making the dash to find the Bella and Edward dolls. I have seen some for sale online for around $25 each, but who knows what the price of the dolls will be in a couple of weeks if demand outpaces the supply. Besides the collector dolls and the movie tickets, “Twilight” inspired jewelry, calendars, board games, and clothes are being snatched up by fans as well. Oh, and “Twilight” books are still hot sellers as well. Author Stephenie Meyer’s “The Twilight Saga Collection” — which has been in the top 100 for more than a year— is in the top 10 on both the Barnes & Noble and Amazon websites today.
