Monday, February 2, 2009
Twilight Mania Is Unstoppable
Twilight Mania Is Unstoppable
Vampire romance has made $326M worldwide since Nov. release
By TheImproper.com
The sleeper hit Twilight continues to tear up the box office, having grossed over $326 million worldwide since its Nov. 21 U.S. release, per Box Office Mojo.
The low-budget indie flick, which was financed by fledgling film studio Summit Entertainment, was made for just $37 million. Since then, a sequel, New Moon (2009), has been greenlit with a $50 million budget and will start shooting in March 2009. And a third installment, Eclipse (2010), will be shot back-to-back with New Moon, with both films to be released in consecutive years.
Twilight, which originally started out as a cult teen phenom, has now entered mainstream popularity, making overnight sensations of its previously unknown stars, Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart. Pattinson, 22, is best known for having played Cedric Diggory in the 2005 blockbuster, Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fire. Stewart, 18, previously starred in Into the Wild (2007), Zathura (2005) and Panic Room (2002).
As the Twilight craze hits a fever pitch, Pattinson in particular has become the subject of white-hot public fascination. Indeed, Rob recently made international headlines when he cut his hair, igniting vigorous online debates over whether he should wear it short or long.
Fortunately, the down-to-earth London native is taking his expanding public profile in stride. "It's been beyond surreal," says Pattinson. "I don't go out of my house much, so I don't notice too much of it. The paparazzi stuff is weird. It's so new still, I can't feel that jaded by it yet."
The major benefit to his newfound star power is better job opportunities. "It's nice to be on a relatively even playing field now with other people," says Rob. "A lot of the time, you can do a good audition only to be told that you're not famous or commercially viable enough to get the part." Obviously, that has now all changed.
New Moon hits theaters in November 2009.
[Editor's note: Enjoy the above video tribute featuring the hit Womanizer by Britney Spears.]