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The Twilight Saga is a series of five romance fantasy films from Summit Entertainment based on the four novels by the American author Stephenie Meyer. The films star Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, and Taylor Lautner. The series has grossed over $3.3 Billion in worldwide receipts and consists, to date, of five motion pictures.
The first installment Twilight was released on November 21, 2008. The second installment, New Moon, followed on November 20, 2009, breaking box office records as the biggest midnight screening and opening day in history, grossing an estimated $72.7 Million. The third installment, Eclipse, was released on June 30, 2010,and was the first Twilight film to be released in IMAX.
The series was in development since 2004 at Paramount Pictures, during which time a screen adaptation of Twilight that differed significantly from the novel was written. Three years later, Summit Entertainment acquired the rights to the film. After Twilight grossed $35.7 million on its opening day, Summit Entertainment announced they would begin production on New Moon; they had acquired the rights to the remaining novels earlier that same month. A two-part adaptation of Breaking Dawn began shooting in November 2010 with November 18, 2011, and November 16, 2012, release Dates
Twilight was in development for approximately three years at Paramount Pictures's MTV Films, during which time a screen adaptation differing significantly from the novel was written.For example, the script transformed Bella into a star athlete. Stephenie Meyer stated that there was some debate in allowing the movie to be made because of the negative or positive outcome of the movie compared to the book, '"They could have put that [earlier] movie out, called it something else, and no one would have known it was Twilight!" The idea of seeing a scene converted correctly, specifically the meadow scene, convinced Meyer to sell the rights.
In seeing the script, she was frightened that she had made the wrong decision. When Summit Entertainment reinvented itself as a full-service studio in April 2007, it successfully acquired the rights to the novel. Erik Feig, President of Production at Summit Entertainment, guaranteed a close adaptation to the book.The company perceived the film as an opportunity to launch a franchise based on the success of Meyer's book and its Sequels.Meyer felt that Summit was open to letting her be a part of the film. Catherine Hardwicke was hired to direct the film, and soon afterward, Melissa Rosenberg was selected to be the film's structural base as the writer of the film.
Rosenberg developed an outline by the end of August and collaborated with Hardwicke on writing the screenplay during the following month. "She was a great sounding board and had all sorts of brilliant ideas.... I'd finish off scenes and send them to her, and get back her notes." Because of the impending WGA strike, Rosenberg worked full-time to finish the screenplay before October 31.In adapting the novel for the screen, she "had to condense a great deal." Some characters were left out, and others were combined. "Our intent all along was to stay true to the book," Rosenberg explained, "and it has to do less with adapting it word for word and more with making sure the characters' arcs and emotional journeys are the same." Hardwicke suggested the use of voice over to convey the protagonist's internal dialogue, since the novel is told from Bella's point of view; and she sketched some of the storyboards during pre-production.
Meyer, the author, and Hardwicke, the director, had a close relationship while developing Twilight. Hardwicke wanted to embrace the experience and make the characters in the books come to life. She would call Meyer after changing a scene slightly, which surprised the author because, "I've heard the stories...I know it's not normally like that when you adapt a book." Meyer, a natural pessimist, was waiting for the worst but, instead, called her experience in the book's film adaptation "the best I could have hoped for."
Originally scheduled for release in December 2008, Twilight was moved to a worldwide release of November 21, 2008 after Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince moved from a November 2008 release to being released in July 2009
Twilight (November 2008)
Main article: Twilight (2008 film)
Twilight was directed by Catherine Hardwicke and written by Melissa Rosenberg. It focuses on the development of a personal relationship between human teenager Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) and vampire Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson), and the subsequent efforts of Edward and his family to keep Bella safe from a separate group of hostile vampires.
The film was released theatrically starting on November 21, 2008. It grossed $35.7 million on its opening day, and has come to gross US$408.9 million worldwide. The DVD was released on March 21, 2009 and grossed an additional $201 million from sales.
The Twilight Saga: New Moon (November 2009)
Main article: The Twilight Saga: New Moon
The Twilight Saga: New Moon was directed by Chris Weitz and written by Melissa Rosenberg. The film follows Bella Swan's fall into a deep depression until she develops a strong friendship with werewolf Jacob Black. Jacob and his tribe must protect Bella from Victoria, a vampire seeking to avenge the death of her mate by killing Bella. A misunderstanding occurs, and Edward Cullen believes Bella is dead. Edward decides to commit suicide in Volterra, Italy; but he is stopped by Bella, who is accompanied by Edward's sister, Alice. They meet with the Volturi, a powerful coven of vampires, and are released on the condition that Bella be turned into a vampire in the near future. Bella and Edward are reunited, and she and the Cullens return to Forks.
The film was released theatrically starting on November 20, 2009, and set numerous records. It is currently the biggest advance-ticket seller on Fandango and held the biggest midnight opening in domestic (United States and Canada) box office history, grossing an estimated $26.3 Million.Its sequel, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, broke that record in June 2010, grossing $72.7 million on its opening day domestically,$709 Million Worldwide and becoming the biggest single-day opening in domestic history.It is the eighth highest opening weekend in domestic history with $142,839,137.
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (June 2010)
Main article: The Twilight Saga: Eclipse
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse was directed by David Slade and written by Melissa Rosenberg. The film follows Bella Swan as she develops awareness of the complications of marrying Edward Cullen. As Victoria draws nearer with a group of newborn vampires, Jacob Black and the rest of the werewolves form a temporary alliance to destroy her, in turn, to keep Bella safe. While Bella tries to decide who she is, a fight brews and the consequences are paid once Jacob gets hurt. Intent on keeping a compromise with Edward, she vows to keep true to her engagement and marry him.
The film was released theatrically starting on June 30, 2010, and is the first Twilight film to be released in IMAX. It set a new record for biggest midnight opening in domestic (United States and Canada) in box office history, grossing an estimated $30 million in over 4,000 Theaters.
The previous record holder was the previous film in the series, The Twilight Saga: New Moon with $26.3 million in 3,514 Theaters. The film then scored the biggest Wednesday opening in domestic history with $68,533,840 beating Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen's $62 Million.The Twilight Saga: Eclipse has also become the film with the widest independent release, playing in over 4,416 theaters, surpassing its predecessor, The Twilight Saga: New Moon, which held the record since November 2009.
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn (November 2011/November 2012)
Main articles: The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 and The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn was directed by Bill Condon, and author Stephenie Meyer co-produced the film along with Karen Rosenfelt and Wyck Godfrey; Melissa Rosenberg penning the script.The book's plot was split into two films, the first of which was released on November 18, 2011.The second was released on November 16, 2012.The filming of Breaking Dawn began in November 2010. The first part follows Bella and Edward as they get married and then learn that Bella has become pregnant. The second part of Breaking Dawn saw the climax of Bella and Edward's relationship, as Bella must learn to adapt to immortality as a newly transformed vampire and motherhood.
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