‘Twilight’ to return in advance of sequel
Original to air prior to ‘New Moon’s’ release
Wanting to capitalize on the teen vampire movie craze it stirred last year, Summit Entertainment is planning to re-release “Twilight” in more than 2,000 theaters Nov. 19 – the night before the arrival of the highly anticipated sequel, “The Twilight Saga: New Moon.”
Summit’s distribution executives have been in conversations with the nation’s theater owners about a one-night-only screening of “Twilight” at 9 or 9:30 p.m. before the 12:01 a.m. showings of “New Moon.”
Released in November, “Twilight,” the first film based on Stephenie Meyer’s best-selling book series, became a runaway hit both in theaters and on DVD.
The movie, which stars Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson as chaste lovers, grossed $383.5 million at the worldwide box office and is this year’s top-selling DVD, with about 8 million units sold in the U.S. and Canada alone.
Even though the film is out on DVD, Summit is banking on herds of bloodthirsty teens coming back out for the social experience of sitting in a darkened theater, especially as excitement builds for “New Moon.”
This would mark the second time Summit has re-released “Twilight” on the big screen.
In July, the movie had a one-night-only theatrical release during the annual Comic-Con Convention in San Diego on the night before the studio showed exclusive footage of “New Moon” there.