The Twilight Saga is a series of romantic vampire fantasy films based on the book series Twilight by Stephenie Meyer. The series earned more than $3.36 billion worldwide. The first movie, Twilight, was released on November 21, 2008. The second movie, New Moon, came out on November 20, 2009. The third movie, Eclipse, was released on June 30, 2010. The fourth movie, Breaking Dawn – Part 1, was released on November 18, 2011. The fifth and final movie, Breaking Dawn – Part 2, was released on November 16, 2012.

The series began being developed in 2004 by Paramount Pictures’ MTV Films. At that time, a movie version of Twilight that was very different from the book was written. Three years later, Summit Entertainment bought the rights to make the films. After Twilight earned $35.7 million on its first day in theaters, Summit Entertainment said they would start making New Moon. They had already bought the rights to the other books in the series earlier that same month. Critics had mixed reviews of the films, some negative and some positive. However, fans of the books liked the movies.

Development

Twilight was being developed for about three years by Paramount Pictures' MTV Films. During this time, a movie version that was very different from the book was created. For example, the script changed Bella into a star athlete. The differences were so large that Stephenie Meyer worried she had made a mistake by selling the film rights to her novel. She later said, "They could have made that earlier movie, called it something else, and no one would have known it was Twilight!"

In April 2007, Summit Entertainment changed its business to become a full-service studio. It then bought the rights to Twilight, aiming to make a movie series based on the book and its sequels. Erik Feig, who was the President of Production at Summit Entertainment, promised to make a movie that closely followed the book. Meyer felt that Summit was willing to let her participate in the film's creation.

Catherine Hardwicke was chosen to direct the movie, and Melissa Rosenberg was hired to write it. Rosenberg created an outline by the end of August, then worked on the screenplay with Hardwicke the next month. Rosenberg said, "She was a great sounding board and had many good ideas. I would finish scenes and send them to her, and she would give me notes." Because of the upcoming WGA strike, Rosenberg worked full-time to complete the screenplay before October 31. She had to condense much of the book, combining some characters and leaving others out. Rosenberg explained, "Our goal was always to stay true to the book. This means making sure the characters' stories and emotional journeys match the book, not copying it word for word." Hardwicke suggested using voice-over narration to show the main character's thoughts, since the book is told from Bella's perspective. She also sketched some storyboards during pre-production.

Hardwicke asked Meyer for feedback as the movie was being made. For example, the director called the author after slightly changing a scene. This surprised Meyer. She said, "I've heard stories about this. I know it's not usual when adapting a book." Meyer, who often feels worried, was ready for problems but instead described her experience with the movie as "the best I could have hoped for."

Originally planned to be released in December 2008, Twilight's release was moved to November 21, 2008, worldwide. This change happened because Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was delayed from its November 2008 release to July 2009.

Casting

Kristen Stewart was on the set of Adventureland when director Hardwicke visited her for a casual screen test. The director was impressed by her performance. Hardwicke did not originally choose Robert Pattinson for the role of Edward Cullen. However, after Pattinson auditioned at Hardwicke’s home with Stewart, he was selected for the part. Pattinson did not enjoy playing Edward Cullen. Meyer, the author of the Twilight books, allowed Pattinson to read a manuscript of Midnight Sun, a book that tells the Twilight story from Edward’s perspective. Meyer was very excited about casting Stewart and Pattinson as the main characters. Before production began, Meyer had wanted Emily Browning and Henry Cavill to play Bella and Edward, respectively.

Peter Facinelli was not originally cast as Carlisle Cullen. Hardwicke liked him, but the studio preferred another actor. For unknown reasons, that actor could not take the role, and Facinelli was chosen instead. Some fans criticized Ashley Greene for being cast as Alice Cullen because she is 7 inches (18 cm) taller than Alice is described in the book. Meyer said Rachael Leigh Cook looked like her vision of Alice. Nikki Reed, who played Rosalie Hale, had previously worked with Hardwicke on Thirteen (2003) and Lords of Dogtown (2005).

Kellan Lutz was in Africa filming the HBO series Generation Kill when auditions for Emmett Cullen took place. The role was already cast before the HBO production ended in December 2007, but the chosen actor did not work out. Lutz auditioned later and was flown to Oregon, where Hardwicke personally selected him.

Rachelle Lefèvre wanted to act in the film because Hardwicke was the director. She believed there was potential to explore a character over multiple movies and wanted to play a vampire. She thought vampires were a good way to show human fears and questions about life. Christian Serratos first auditioned for Jessica Stanley but later wanted to play Angela Weber after reading the books. She took the chance to audition again for Angela’s role. Anna Kendrick was cast as Jessica Stanley after two auditions with different actors.

Director Chris Weitz considered replacing Taylor Lautner in New Moon because Jacob Black’s appearance changes significantly between Twilight and New Moon. Lautner wanted to stay in the role and gained 30 pounds through intense workouts. In January 2009, Weitz and Summit Entertainment announced Lautner would continue as Jacob in New Moon.

When asked about Pattinson, Hardwicke said, “I looked him up and thought he could play Edward. When I saw him on set, he looked like the Edward I imagined.” He believed Pattinson perfectly captured the character.

In late March 2009, Summit Entertainment released a list of actors who would play the “wolf pack” alongside Lautner. The casting of the Quileute people was led by Rene Haynes, a casting director who has worked on films with large Native American casts, such as Dances with Wolves and Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee.

In mid-2009, Bryce Dallas Howard was cast as Victoria in Eclipse instead of Rachelle Lefèvre. Summit Entertainment said the change was due to scheduling conflicts. Lefèvre was surprised and upset by the decision. Jodelle Ferland was cast as Bree, a newly turned vampire. Other new actors in Eclipse include Xavier Samuel as Riley, Jack Huston as Royce King II, Catalina Sandino Moreno as Maria, Julia Jones as Leah Clearwater, and Booboo Stewart as Seth Clearwater.

Production

Principal photography for Twilight lasted 44 days, following more than a week of rehearsals, and ended on May 2, 2008. Similar to her first film, Thirteen, director Catherine Hardwicke used a lot of handheld camera work to make the movie feel realistic. Stephenie Meyer, the book’s author, visited the set three times and gave advice on the story. She also appeared briefly in the film. To help actors move more gracefully and learn vampire fighting styles, the cast practiced with a dance choreographer and studied the movements of different panthera. Scenes at Forks High School were filmed at Kalama High School and Madison High School instead of the actual school. Other scenes were shot in St. Helens, Oregon, and some reshoots happened in Pasadena, California, in August.

Edward Cullen is shown driving a "shiny" and "silver" Volvo S60-R, a fast car that does not draw attention to the Cullen family’s wealth in the books. The film series partnered with Volvo to include a Volvo C30 in the 2008 movie, as the car better matched Edward’s character as a 108-year-old vampire pretending to be a teenager. Volvo reported more sales of the C30 in the U.S. after the film came out, and the brand became seen as more appealing to younger buyers. Volvo continued this partnership by placing a Volvo XC60 in New Moon and returning to the S60 for Breaking Dawn.

In early November 2008, Summit Entertainment announced it had acquired the rights to the remaining books in Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight series: New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn. On November 22, 2008, one day after Twilight’s release, Summit confirmed it would begin work on New Moon. Melissa Rosenberg had been writing the script for New Moon before Twilight was released and submitted her draft during Twilight’s opening weekend in November 2008.

In early December 2008, it was announced that Catherine Hardwicke would not direct New Moon. She said she left due to time constraints. Instead, Chris Weitz, director of The Golden Compass and co-director of American Pie, was hired to direct New Moon. Filming began in Vancouver in late March 2009 and in Montepulciano, Italy, in late May 2009.

In early 2009, before New Moon’s release, Summit confirmed it would start production on Eclipse. Since Chris Weitz would be working on New Moon’s post-production when Eclipse began filming, he would not direct the third film. Instead, David Slade directed Eclipse, with Melissa Rosenberg returning as screenwriter. Filming started on August 17, 2009, at Vancouver Film Studios and ended in late October, with post-production beginning the following month. In April 2010, it was revealed that reshoots for Eclipse were needed. Slade, who had said he would not be present, was seen on set along with Stephenie Meyer. The three main actors were also there.

Wyck Godfrey, producer of the earlier Twilight films, said in mid-2009 that the filmmakers planned to make a movie version of Breaking Dawn. After months of rumors, it was officially announced on April 28, 2010, that Bill Condon, director of Gods and Monsters and Dreamgirls, would direct Breaking Dawn. Wyck Godfrey, Karen Rosenfelt, and Stephenie Meyer would produce the film. Bill Condon said, “I’m excited to bring the climax of this story to life on-screen. As fans know, this is a unique book, and we hope to create a special movie experience.” The first part of Breaking Dawn was set for release on November 18, 2011, and the second part on November 16, 2012. In June 2010, Summit confirmed that both parts of Breaking Dawn would begin filming in the fall. All major actors, including the three leads, the Cullen family, and Charlie Swan, would return for both films. Bill Condon would direct both parts.

To keep the budget for both parts of Breaking Dawn manageable, which would be much higher than earlier films, filming was also done in Louisiana, where the studio received larger financial benefits from the state.

Films

The movie Twilight was directed by Catherine Hardwicke and written by Melissa Rosenberg. It tells the story of a relationship between Bella Swan, a teenage girl played by Kristen Stewart, and Edward Cullen, a vampire played by Robert Pattinson. Edward and his family try to protect Bella from a group of dangerous vampires. Edward refuses to turn Bella into a vampire so they can be together forever, believing she should live a normal human life.

The film was released in theaters on November 21, 2008. It earned $35.7 million on its first day and made a total of $393.6 million worldwide. The DVD was released on March 21, 2009, and earned an additional $238 million. The Blu-ray version was released on March 21, 2009, in some stores and later became widely available on May 5, 2009, earning over $26 million. This brought total home media sales to over $264 million.

The Twilight Saga: New Moon was directed by Chris Weitz and written by Melissa Rosenberg. The movie follows the Cullens leaving Forks and Bella falling into a deep depression. Her depression continues until she forms a strong friendship with Jacob Black, played by Taylor Lautner. Jacob becomes a werewolf without wanting to. Jacob and his tribe must protect Bella from Victoria, a vampire seeking revenge for her mate’s death. A misunderstanding leads Edward to believe Bella is dead. Edward tries to commit suicide in Italy but is stopped by Bella, who is with his sister, Alice. They meet the Volturi, a powerful group of vampires, and are released under the condition that Bella will be turned into a vampire soon. Bella and Edward reunite, and they return to Forks. Edward promises to change Bella into a vampire if she agrees to marry him.

The film was released in theaters on November 20, 2009, and set several records. It was the biggest advance-ticket seller on Fandango and had the largest midnight opening in U.S. and Canadian box office history, earning about $26.3 million. Its sequel, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, broke that record in June 2010, earning $72.7 million on its opening day in the U.S. and Canada. New Moon is the 13th highest-grossing opening weekend in U.S. and Canadian history, earning $142,839,137.

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse was directed by David Slade and written by Melissa Rosenberg. The film shows Bella learning about the challenges of marrying a vampire. Jacob and the wolves form a temporary alliance with the Cullens to fight Victoria and her army of newborn vampires to protect Bella. Jacob tries to convince Bella to leave Edward and be with him but fails. Edward proposes to Bella, and she accepts.

The film was released in theaters on June 30, 2010, and was the first Twilight movie to be shown in IMAX. It set a new record for the largest midnight opening in U.S. and Canadian box office history, earning about $30 million in over 4,000 theaters. The previous record was held by New Moon, which earned $26.3 million in 3,514 theaters. The film also had the biggest Wednesday opening in U.S. and Canadian history, earning $68,533,840, surpassing Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen’s $62 million. Eclipse became the film with the widest release ever, playing in over 4,416 theaters.

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn was directed by Bill Condon. Stephenie Meyer, the book’s author, co-produced the film with Karen Rosenfelt and Wyck Godfrey, and Melissa Rosenberg wrote the script. The book’s story was split into two films. The first part was released on November 18, 2011, after filming began in November 2010.

The first film follows Bella and Edward as they get married and Bella becomes pregnant. She struggles with the challenges of carrying a child who is half-human and half-vampire.

The second part of Breaking Dawn was released on November 16, 2012. It shows the climax of Bella and Edward’s relationship. Bella learns to use her special shield powers as a new vampire and protects her daughter, Renesmee, who is half-human and half-vampire. The film also features a final battle between the Cullens, vampires from the Denali Clan, and other vampire allies, along with the Quileute wolves, against the Volturi.

Release history

In September 2016, Patrick Wachsberger, who was a top leader at Lionsgate, said that making a sequel to a movie was possible, but only if the author, Stephenie Meyer, wanted to create one.

On August 8, 2017, the media outlet Variety reported that Jon Feltheimer, the head of Lionsgate, was interested in making new movies related to The Twilight Saga and wanted to form a group of writers to explore these ideas.

On April 19, 2023, Lionsgate Television announced that a television show based on the Twilight Saga was being planned in its early stages.

On November 26, 2023, Catherine Hardwicke, who directed the first Twilight movie, spoke on a podcast for the 15th anniversary of the film. She mentioned a possible idea for a new version of the story that could involve actors Jacob Elordi and Jenna Ortega.

To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the movie series, Lionsgate and Fathom Entertainment showed all five Twilight films in movie theaters for five days, from October 29, 2025, to November 2, 2025.

Soundtracks

The Twilight: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack was selected by music supervisor Alexandra Patsavas. The album was released on November 4, 2008, by Patsavas' Chop Shop label, with Atlantic Records, and reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200. It sold about 165,000 copies in its first week, with 29% being digital downloads. Twilight is the best-selling theatrical movie soundtrack in the United States since Chicago (2002). The first single from the soundtrack was "Decode" by Paramore. It was released on Paramore's fan club site and Stephenie Meyer's official website on October 1, 2008. The song received a Platinum certification in the U.S. on February 16, 2010, after selling over 1,000,000 copies. It was also nominated for a Grammy Award in 2010 for Best Song Written for a Movie. The second single was "Go All the Way (Into the Twilight)" by Perry Farrell, which premiered on Meyer's website on October 23, 2008.

Twilight: The Score was composed and orchestrated by Carter Burwell over nine to ten weeks. It was recorded and mixed in about two weeks in late September 2008. Burwell created a "Love Theme" for Bella and Edward's relationship, which became "Bella's Lullaby" played by Robert Pattinson in the film and included on the soundtrack. The original love theme appears throughout the movie and highlights the romance in the story. Burwell also composed a "Predator Theme" that opens the film and represents Edward's vampire nature. Other themes include a bass-line, drum beat, and distorted guitar sound for nomadic vampires and a melody for the Cullen family. Twilight: The Score was released digitally on November 25, 2008, and in stores on December 9.

For The Twilight Saga: New Moon (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack), Alexandra Patsavas again served as music supervisor. The Twilight Saga: New Moon (The Score) was composed by Alexandre Desplat, who previously worked with director Chris Weitz on The Golden Compass (2007). The soundtrack was released on October 16, 2009, by Chop Shop label and Atlantic Records, and debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, later reaching No. 1 with 153,000 copies sold. The Twilight Saga: New Moon (The Score) was released on November 24, 2009.

For The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack), Alexandra Patsavas again supervised the music. The album was released on June 8, 2010, by Chop Shop label and Atlantic Records. The lead single, "Neutron Star Collision (Love Is Forever)" by Muse, was released on May 17, 2010. The soundtrack debuted at No. 2 on the U.S. Billboard 200 with estimated sales of 144,000 copies. The film's score, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (The Score), was composed by Howard Shore, who also created scores for The Lord of the Rings trilogy (2001–2003).

For The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack), two singles were released: "A Thousand Years" by Christina Perri and "It Will Rain" by Bruno Mars. "A Thousand Years" reached No. 31 on the Billboard Hot 100, while "It Will Rain" reached No. 3.

Reception

On November 21, 2008, the movie Twilight earned over $7 million from midnight showings alone. It earned $35.7 million on its opening day. During its opening weekend in the United States and Canada, Twilight earned $69.6 million from 3,419 theaters, with an average of $20,368 per theater.

The film earned $192.7 million in the United States and Canada and an additional $200.8 million in other countries, for a total of $393.6 million worldwide.

Twilight was released on DVD in North America on March 21, 2009, through midnight release parties. It sold over 3 million copies on its first day and continued to sell units. As of July 2012, the DVD sales had earned $201,323,629.

The movie The Twilight Saga: New Moon set records for advance ticket sales, leading some theaters to add more showings. It earned an estimated $26.3 million during its midnight premiere in 3,514 theaters, which was the highest midnight opening in U.S. and Canadian box office history. This record was previously held by Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, which earned $22.2 million during its midnight premiere. New Moon earned $72.7 million on its opening day in the United States and Canada, the highest single-day opening in domestic box office history, surpassing The Dark Knight’s $67.2 million. This opening helped set another record: the first time the top ten films at the domestic box office earned over $100 million in a single day.

The opening weekend of The Twilight Saga: New Moon earned $142,839,137 in the United States and Canada, making it the ninth-highest opening weekend in domestic history. It also earned $274.9 million worldwide during its opening weekend, the sixth-highest worldwide opening weekend.

While The Twilight Saga films were successful at the box office, critics had mixed opinions about them.

New York Press critic Armond White called Twilight "a genuine pop classic" and praised the director for turning the book series into a vision similar to works by the Brontë family. USA Today gave the film two out of four stars, and Claudia Puig wrote that the film was "unintentionally funny and quickly forgettable," even though the book was more engaging.

Robert Ignizio of the Cleveland Scene described New Moon as an "entertaining fantasy" with stronger visuals and better action scenes than Twilight, while still focusing on the central love story. Michael O’Sullivan of The Washington Post gave the film two and a half stars, praised Kristen Stewart’s performance, and said the film was "sexy and scary." The Seattle Post-Intelligencer gave the film a "B" grade, saying the movie looked great and had good dialogue and acting. Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle said the film might please fans but could feel like a "bizarre soap opera" to others. Roger Ebert gave New Moon one star and said the film was "undead" compared to Twilight. The movie also inspired feminist criticism, as some critics questioned Edward Cullen’s character. The popularity of the films showed that female viewers have a growing influence on Hollywood.

A review of The Twilight Saga: Eclipse in The Hollywood Reporter said the film "nails it." Variety reported that the film "finally feels more like the blockbuster this top-earning franchise deserves." One review called Eclipse the best film in the series so far and said the director of the final two films, Breaking Dawn, would have a difficult challenge to match its quality. A.O. Scott of The New York Times praised the director’s ability to make an entertaining film but noted that the acting did not improve much.

A more negative review said Eclipse "restores some of the energy" lost in New Moon and has "enough quality performances" to be engaging, but it is not as exciting as its marketing suggested. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun Times gave the film two stars, saying the movie was a "constant, unclever conversation" between the main characters. He criticized the film’s visual style and said the movie would be confusing for people unfamiliar with the series.

Breaking Dawn – Part 1 received mostly negative reviews. According to Rotten Tomatoes, 25% of critics gave the film a positive review, and the site’s summary said the film was "slow, joyless, and full of unintentionally humorous moments." Breaking Dawn – Part 2 had mixed reviews but was more favorable than Part 1. Richard Roeper said the film was "the most self-aware and in some ways the most entertaining" in the series, giving it a grade of C+.

• indicates the yearly rank based on the number of DVDs sold during the year the film was released (calculated by The Numbers).

Twilightin popular culture

In 2010, a parody film called Vampires Suck, featuring actors Jenn Proske, Matt Lanter, and Chris Riggi, was released. The film’s story was based on the Twilight movie and its sequel, The Twilight Saga: New Moon. Although critics did not give the film good reviews, with only 4% approval on Rotten Tomatoes, it was financially successful. It opened as the top movie in the United States and earned over $80,000,000 worldwide, despite costing only $20,000,000 to make. In 2012, another parody film, Breaking Wind, which included actors not widely known, was released directly to DVD by Lionsgate Home Entertainment.

In 2010, the Teletoon original film My Babysitter’s a Vampire parodied the first three Twilight films as the Dusk trilogy. A subplot in the film follows the main characters attending a fan-hosted premiere of Dusk III: Unbitten. The film includes a Dusk fan club, and fans are called Duskers. Some references to the parodied franchise appear in its televised version.

The animated film Hotel Transylvania briefly parodied the Twilight Saga. This happened in a scene where Edward tells Bella he is a vampire near Forks High School. The scene, which lasts only a few seconds, appears on an airplane TV during a moment when Count Dracula tries to convince Jonathan to return to Hotel Transylvania.

In 2019, Russian figure skater Alena Kostornaia used music from the Twilight and New Moon soundtracks in her free program. This performance helped her win the European championship. She was a favorite to win the world title before the championship was canceled in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In February 2025, a Lego set based on the Cullen house was released. The set was created as part of the Lego Ideas program. In September 2025, the original Twilight book celebrated its 20th anniversary. To honor this, author Stephanie Meyer released a special collector’s edition of the series. This edition includes a single hardcover copy of Twilight and a complete hardcover set of all books, each highlighting an important moment from the series. Bookstores such as Barnes and Noble sell both the single special edition and the full collector’s series.