Big "Twilight" Box Office Bite Likely

(CBS) 
Vampires have been Hollywood and TV gold for decades.

Now, producers are hoping some sexy new blood-suckers can sink their teeth into box office success with a big-screen adaptation of the first in the "Twilight" series of Stephenie Meyer books, which have turned into a true teen phenomenon, attracting legions of devoted fans. Global sales of the four books top 17 million.

The "Twilight" movie opens Friday.

Will it produce a "Harry Potter"-type win?

It's certainly getting plenty of buzz: "Twilight" is THE talked-about movie of fall.

It's the tale of two tortured teen lovers in the Pacific Northwest: Isabella "Bella" Swan (Kristen Stewart) and hunky vampire Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson). The conflict is that, if Cullen fully expresses his love for Bella, he could kill her.

Us Weekly magazine Editor At Large Ian Drew stopped by The Early Show Saturday Edition to fill viewers in.

"Big is an understatement," for the probable fate of "Twilight," Drew told co-anchor Chris Wragge. "This thing is just massive. Pandemonium is breaking out over every aspect of this.

"The (soundtrack) album went No. 1 this week, which didn't (even) happen with 'High School Musical 3,' which was the big seller for the young set in the past. The movie's expected to break box office records. There was a San Francisco mall appearance from the cast this week, and they were not prepared for the amount of people who were there. There were all kinds of injuries and all kinds of people going crazy. Everything was just off the wall."

Will it trump what "High School Musical 3"?

"It looks to," Drew responded, "and it's kind of surprising, but it's got that darker element that sort of brings in an older audience. You've got the teens who feel 'High School Musical' is a little dorky for them. They want something a little cool, with a little bit of an edge. ... They want a little bit of a dark side. They're really into that."

But is the movie actually -- any good?!

"The books actually got great reviews on some ends and bad reviews on others," Drew replied. "But the movie is getting much higher marks in the early viewing so far."

"This is gonna be (luring) adults, too," Drew predicted. "This is gonna be across-the-board, and that's what makes this different. Vampire movies have always been popular. Adults have grown up with it. We had 'Dracula.' You started out with Abbott and Costello, all the way through 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer,' so this is just continuing a tradition that doesn't die."

Drew surmised that the appeal of vampire tales is that they "represent an underworld, and the kinda things people are really into, like eternal life and sort of an unattainable aspect. There's all these things to it, and it's almost like letting someone take control. They like the idea, almost, of the victimization in these things."