The Twilight Saga: Eclipse
Release Date:
June 30, 2010
On the Big Board |
| Position |
Staff |
In Brief |
| 97/123 |
David Mumpower |
Nowhere near as insufferable as the previous two but still lacking in focus or story. |
| 179/190 |
Max Braden |
I really don't get the appeal. I must have fallen asleep before the action happened, because what I saw was absolutely boring. |
Vampire baseball. Werewolves with rock-hard abs. Broody, sparkly chaps with bad hair. Angst. All of these things (and more) make up the Twilight Saga, which has captured the fancy of teen girls, not to mention women of all ages whose fancy has been captured by the emotions evoked in the books and movies.
For those who have been stuck on an island with a bunch of annoying people named Jack, Kate, Sawyer and Sayid for the last several years, Twilight is based on a series of highly successful novels by Stephenie Meyer. The story focuses on a girl named Bella who falls for a glittery vampire named Edward, whose "people" seem to have great conflict with a group of werewolves. And oh yeah, Bella also has a sort of romance with one of these werewolves, named Jacob. Much teenage turmoil ensues.
Despite a lot of folks thinking that the first film, from upstart distributor Summit Entertainment, looked low-budget and lacking in quality, Twilight opened to a stunning $69.3 million in November of 2008. If people were blown away by that number, their minds were completely blown a year later when the sequel, New Moon, earned $72.7 million in its first day. Its opening weekend was $142.8 million. It is - as of June 29, 2010 - the third biggest opening of all-time. To say that Twilight is a phenomenon is an understatement. With regard to domestic performance, the first film earned $192.8 million, while the sequel made $296.6 million. Overseas grosses added another $203 million/$406 million to their coffers. How ridiculous, right?
Considering that many fans claim the second book is the most laborious and boring of the set, that New Moon number becomes all the more impressive. The question becomes whether Eclipse, the third film in the series, can maintain the momentum created by the first two movies. Its release date moves to June - which we've seen impact the Harry Potter films in a negative fashion, and there's always reason to wonder whether the teens who make up so much of its audience have moved on to the next big thing. No matter what, I think we're secure in saying that Eclipse will be a license to print money. The budget is just $65 million - less than what the first film opened to.
Meanwhile, those of us who quit reading the second book 50 pages in and fast forwarded through the movies will just sit and wonder why. Not that there's anything wrong with it, if you love it. I suppose. (Kim Hollis/BOP)
Vital statistics for The Twilight Saga: Eclipse |
| Main Cast |
Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner |
| Supporting Cast |
Bryce Dallas Howard, Ashley Greene, Billy Burke, Peter Facinelli, Elizabeth Reaser, Nikki Reed, Kellan Lutz, Jackson Rathbone, Dakota Fanning |
| Director |
David Slade |
| Screenwriter |
Melissa Rosenberg |
| Distributor |
Summit Entertainment |
| Official Site |
http://eclipsethemovie.com/ |
| Rating |
PG-13 |
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Talent in red has entry in The Big Picture |
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