Twilight

Production Budget Analysis

What was the production budget for Twilight?

Directed by Catherine Hardwicke, with Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Billy Burke leading the cast, Twilight was produced by Summit Entertainment with a confirmed budget of $37,000,000, placing it in the low-budget category for fantasy films as part of the The Twilight Collection.

With a $37,000,000 budget, Twilight sits in the mid-range of studio releases. Marketing costs for a wide release at this level typically add $30–60 million, putting the break-even point near $92,500,000.

Budget Comparison — Similar Productions

• House on Haunted Hill (1999): Budget $37,000,000 | Gross $40,846,082 → ROI: 10% • Magnolia (1999): Budget $37,000,000 | Gross $48,451,803 → ROI: 31% • 13 Going on 30 (2004): Budget $37,000,000 | Gross $96,458,118 → ROI: 161% • White Chicks (2004): Budget $37,000,000 | Gross $113,100,000 → ROI: 206% • Creed (2015): Budget $37,000,000 | Gross $173,600,000 → ROI: 369%

Key Budget Allocation Categories

▸ Visual Effects & Creature Design Fantasy productions require extensive VFX for magical elements, mythical creatures, and fantastical battle sequences. Creature design alone — from concept art through motion capture and digital rendering — can consume tens of millions of dollars on a major production.

▸ Costumes, Prosthetic Makeup & Production Design Period-inspired or wholly original costumes, elaborate prosthetic and makeup applications, and richly detailed set construction are hallmarks of fantasy filmmaking. A single hero costume can cost $30,000–50,000, multiplied across dozens of featured characters.

▸ Music Score & Sound Design Fantasy epics typically commission full orchestral scores recorded with 80–100 piece ensembles, plus extensive sound design for magical effects, creature vocalizations, and immersive world audio.

Key Production Personnel

CAST: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Billy Burke, Peter Facinelli, Ashley Greene Key roles: Kristen Stewart as Bella Swan; Robert Pattinson as Edward Cullen; Billy Burke as Charlie Swan; Peter Facinelli as Dr. Carlisle Cullen

DIRECTOR: Catherine Hardwicke CINEMATOGRAPHY: Elliot Davis MUSIC: Lizzy Pattinson, Carter Burwell EDITING: Nancy Richardson PRODUCTION: Summit Entertainment, Temple Hill Entertainment, Maverick Films, Imprint Entertainment, Goldcrest, Aura Films FILMED IN: United Kingdom, United States of America

Box Office Performance

Twilight earned $195,553,813 domestically and $198,062,975 internationally, for a worldwide total of $393,616,788. Revenue was split 50% domestic / 50% international.

Break-Even Analysis

Using the industry-standard 2.5x multiplier (P&A + exhibitor shares of 40–50% + distribution fees), Twilight needed approximately $92,500,000 to break even. The film surpassed this threshold by $301,116,788.

Return on Investment (ROI)

Revenue: $393,616,788 Budget: $37,000,000 Net: $356,616,788 ROI: 963.8%

Detailed Box Office Notes

Twilight grossed over $7 million in ticket sales from midnight showings alone on November 21, 2008. The film is fifth overall on Fandango's list of top advance ticket sales, outranked only by its sequel the following year, Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005), The Dark Knight (2008), and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009). For its opening weekend in the United States and Canada, Twilight accumulated $69.6 million from 3,419 theaters at an average of $20,368 per theater. The film grossed $192,769,854 in the United States and Canada, and $214,417,861 in international territories for a total of $407,187,715.

Profitability Assessment

VERDICT: Highly Profitable

Twilight was a clear financial success, generating $393,616,788 worldwide against a $37,000,000 production budget — a 964% ROI. After estimated marketing costs, the film still delivered substantial profit to Summit Entertainment.

INDUSTRY IMPACT

Franchise: Twilight is part of the The Twilight Collection.

The outsized success of Twilight likely influenced studio greenlight decisions for similar fantasy projects.

PRODUCTION NOTES

▸ Development

In early 2004, Greg Mooradian of Maverick Films, looking for young adult novels to adapt to film, received an unpublished manuscript of Twilight and began to read it. After reaching the scene where Bella Swan is saved by Edward Cullen from being hit by a car, Mooradian understood the appeal of the novel. He soon brought the manuscript to David Gale, then executive vice president of Paramount Pictures' MTV Films division, to propose a film adaptation, believing the novel to be "tailor-made" for the MTV brand's teen audience. When talking about MTV Films' original script, author Stephenie Meyer said, "They could have filmed it and not called it Twilight because it had nothing to do with the book, and that's kind of frightening."

Following a change of management at Paramount Pictures, the studio's new president of production, Brad Weston, told Gale that he believed audiences were not interested in films about vampires and werewolves, after being involved with box-office bomb Cursed at Dimension Films, and development stalled. In January 2006, Paramount put Twilight into turnaround. Rosenfelt, who had left Paramount and came aboard Twilight as a producer, was determined to make the film and attempted to forge a co-production deal between Paramount and Fox 2000 Pictures, where she had a producing deal, but Fox 2000 did not agree with Paramount's terms. Rosenfelt later tried to generate interest at Fox Atomic, but Fox Atomic passed. In October 2006, Rosenfelt met with Erik Feig, then president of production of Summit Entertainment, and mentioned to him that, of all the projects she wished she could make, she thought Twilight had the biggest potential. After their meeting, Feig obtained a copy of the novel, read it, and passed it on to colleagues at Summit, who perceived it as an opportunity to launch a franchise.

▸ Casting

Several actresses, including Lily Collins and Jennifer Lawrence, screen tested for the role of Bella Swan, while Frances Bean Cobain turned down the opportunity to audition for the role. Michelle Trachtenberg also turned down the part due to scheduling issues. Hardwicke desired to test Kristen Stewart, who she had seen in Into the Wild and became her first choice for the part. Stewart eventually agreed to meet Hardwicke while working on Adventureland and Hardwicke visited her in Philadelphia with actor Jackson Rathbone, who was in contention to portray Edward Cullen, for an informal screen test that "captivated" the director. and Josh Peck, auditioned for the role. Rathbone, Shiloh Fernandez, Ben Barnes, and Robert Pattinson were the final four up for the role. Hardwicke did not initially choose Pattinson for Edward Cullen, with him arriving at her house in Venice, Los Angeles for a test, according to Hardwicke, "kind of wild-looking" with "scraggly, black dyed hair, and a stain on his shirt", while also having, according to Pattinson, a "hairless, chubby body" from "drinking beer all day" for a few months. After an audition, however, where Pattinson kissed Stewart on Hardwicke's bed and fell out of it, he was selected. Meyer even allowed him to view a manuscript of the unfinished Midnight Sun, which chronicles the events in Twilight from Edward's point of view.

▸ Filming & Locations

Principal photography took 44 days, after more than a week of rehearsals, and completed on May 2, 2008. Meyer visited the production set three times and was consulted on different aspects of the story; she also has a brief cameo in the film. Cast members who portrayed vampires avoided sunlight to make their skin pale, though makeup was also applied for that effect, and wore contact lenses: "We did the golden color because the Cullens have those golden eyes. And then, when we're hungry, we have to pop the black ones in," Facinelli explained. including at the Cullen House, a striking glass-and-wood residence. Stunt work was done mainly by the cast. The fight sequence between Gigandet and Pattinson's characters in a ballet studio, which was filmed during the first week of production, involved a substantial amount of wire work because the vampires in the story have superhuman strength and speed. Gigandet incorporated mixed martial arts fighting moves in this sequence, which involved chicken and honey as substitutes for flesh. Bella, the protagonist, is unconscious during these events, and since the novel is told from her point of view, such action sequences are illustrative and unique to the film. and Leodis V. McDaniel High School. Other scenes were filmed in St. Helens, and Hardwicke conducted some reshooting in Pasadena, California, in August. Twilight was originally scheduled to be theatrically released in the United States on December 12, 2008, but its release date was changed to November 21 after Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was rescheduled for an opening in July 2009. Two teaser trailers, as well as some additional scenes, were released for the film, as well as a final trailer, which was released on October 9. A 15-minute excerpt of Twilight was presented during the International Rome Film Festival in Italy.

▸ Music & Score

The score for Twilight was composed by Carter Burwell, with the rest of the soundtrack chosen by music supervisor Alexandra Patsavas. Meyer was consulted on the soundtrack, which includes music by Muse and Linkin Park, bands she listened to while writing the novels. The original soundtrack was released on November 4, 2008, by Chop Shop Records in conjunction with Atlantic Records.

AWARDS & RECOGNITION

Summary: 34 wins & 16 nominations total

Additional Recognition: Since its release, Twilight has received numerous nominations and awards. In January 2009, Carter Burwell was nominated for Film Composer of the Year by the International Film Music Critics Association. Robert Pattinson won Bravo TV's A-List Award for A-List Breakout. At the 2009 MTV Movie Awards, Pattinson, who was nominated alongside Taylor Lautner, also won an award for Male Breakthrough Performance, "Decode" was nominated for Best Song from a Movie, Twilight won an award for Best Movie, Kristen Stewart won for Best Female performance, Stewart and Pattinson were awarded Best Kiss, and Pattinson and Cam Gigandet won an award for Best Fight. Christian Serratos won a Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a Feature Film: Supporting Young Actress. For the 2009 Teen Choice Awards, held on August 9, the film and its actors received a combined total of 12 nominations, nine of which the film won. At the 2009 Scream Awards, the film was nominated for nine awards, four of which it won. The film won two ALMA Awards for makeup and hairstyling. It also won the Public Choice Award at the World Soundtrack Awards, where Carter Burwell was also nominated for Composer of the Year. Catherine Hardwicke received a Young Hollywood Award for her directing. In addition, the film was nominated for Best Fantasy Film at the 35th Saturn Awards and two Grammy Awards.

CRITICAL RECEPTION

Based on 223 reviews collected by Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a rating of 48% and a weighted average score of 5.4/10. The website's critical consensus reads: "Having lost much of its bite transitioning to the big screen, Twilight will please its devoted fans, but do little for the uninitiated." On Metacritic, it has a weighted mean score of 56 based on 38 reviews from film critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale.

New York Press critic Armond White called the film "a genuine pop classic", and praised Hardwicke for turning "Meyer's book series into a Brontë-esque vision." Roger Ebert gave the film two-and-a-half stars out of four and wrote, "I saw it at a sneak preview. Last time I saw a movie in that same theater, the audience welcomed it as an opportunity to catch up on gossip, texting, and laughing at private jokes. This time the audience was rapt with attention". In his review for the Los Angeles Times, Kenneth Turan wrote, "Twilight is unabashedly a romance. All the story's inherent silliness aside, it is intent on conveying the magic of meeting that one special person you've been waiting for. Maybe it is possible to be 13 and female for a few hours after all". USA Today gave the film two out of four stars and Claudia Puig wrote, "Meyer is said to have been involved in the production of Twilight, but her novel was substantially more absorbing than the unintentionally funny and quickly forgettable film". Entertainment Weekly gave the film a "B" rating and Owen Gleiberman praised Hardwicke's direction: "She has reconjured Meyer's novel as a cloudburst mood piece filled with stormy skies, rippling hormones, and understated visual effects".

Stewart's performance as Bella received mixed reviews.