As usual Hit Fix provides some spot on analysis:
“After releasing both “Twilight” and “The Twilight Saga: New Moon” in November of 2008 and 2009, Summit made the seemingly smart move of moving “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse” to a June 30, 2010 release date. This was because of both fervent interest from the franchise’s fanbase and the expectation that opening in the summer would allow for a larger gross due to the fact many teenagers would be out of school and able to see the film numerous times during the work week. Instead, “Eclipse” has grossed less than the previous chapter, “New Moon,” with only $288.1 million domestic and a total of $644.8 million worldwide so far. “New Moon” ended up with $296 million domestic and $709 million worldwide and it’s hard to see “Eclipse” matching that total as its grosses have slowed considerably. Considering “Eclipse” received universally better reviews than the previous two chapters and was the most action packed (i.e., male friendly) of the series this has to be something of a disappointment for Summit. Granted, there is no need to shed any tears as the studio and series creator Stephenie Meyer are still swimming in profits as the picture only cost $65 million.”
Ok, I’ll admit that I’m sad to have to wait a whole year between movies, but if they use that time wisely to really do justice to the book and franchise…then it would be worth it.
Besides, I couldn’t think of two better things to give myself as a Christmas gift (well, an early Christmas gift).
It bothers me that this article (and others out there) are saying that Eclipse is doing worse than New Moon. Eclipse is actually outpacing New Moon, which was in theaters for far longer than Eclipse has been so far. Give it a few more weeks and they’ll no longer be able to misrepresent the “totals” like this anymore.
Besides, it’s not as if any of these movies have performed poorly, so why look for such a negative angle?
It is, and I actually just left this comment on there (in response to another’s post – he claimed that it was losing screens and that is why New Moon will outpace it)…
Actually, I have seen last weekend. Although it played in fewer screens than the same weekend for New Moon (2334 vs 3035), it made almost the same amount, and – in fact – beat the per theater income of New Moon (a range of $451 – $541 per theater for New moon vs a range of $513 to $658 for Eclipse). Given that the comparable weekend for New Moon was Dec. 18th, 19th, and 20th, I would think those numbers should have been much higher, but weren’t (as it was beginning of vacation for many students).
I have no idea why I put “It is” at the beginning, LOL. That should have said “I agree”. Long day…
LOL, I actually re-read that first statement a couple times trying to figure out what you meant by that. Long day for me to XD
Makes sense, but it still stinks.
Maybe if Eclipse had remained truer to the book “us” twihard fans would have gone to see it multiple times!!! Breaking Dawn better not be another hack job!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Eclipse WAS true to the book!!! Yeah, so they changed a few things here and there, but NOTHING major!
I agree, Jennifer…Eclipse stayed closer to the book than Twilight and New Moon. Hopefully, since Breaking Dawn will be in 2 parts, it will stay close to the book, too. Too much happens in BD NOT to stray too far away!!
I agree, how much more true to a book do you actually expect a movie to be? You have to make a few changes to make it work.
eclipse was VERY CLOSE to the the book if i recall, so i would like before i speak
I think to make their fans happy, which I am sorry, I seriously have been happy with all 3 movies, but I think they will go out with BANG on BD!!! I think it was be AMAZING, but I know, there will still be people who will complain about it. There is ONLY so much that they can fit into 2 hours! I am hoping they make it a little bit longer, seeing how I felt Eclipse was rushed, But I still LOVED it!!!
can’t wait for it to come out on DVD so I can watch it all the time 
they have to change a few things to make it make sense on screen and to also make it fit into a two hour movie, you never see any film that was exactly like the book….i thought eclipse was great, and i did see it twice in the theater….if i had more money i would definatly go see it again……..still gotta drag the boyfriend to go see it in the theater
but some changes weren`t necessary, especially those considering chronological things
Twilight fever is definitely wearing off. I’m excited for the next movies but I’m not “OMFG!!! I HAVE TO BE AT THE MIDNIGHT SHOWING AND SEE IT 16 TIMES AFTER THAT!” like I was with Twilight.
Eclipse in my opinion was very close to the book. There is no way to take a book that takes six to eight hours to read and turn it into a two hour movie and keep it exactly the same. Not to mention they have to do it so that people who have not read the book will be able to follow it and enjoy it. Not an easy task. The only one that went too far from the book for me was Twilight with all the jumping out of windows, climbing trees, eating in cafe’s etc. But I saw it ten times at the theater and of course have the DVD.
I simply cannot understand where they say “Eclipse must be somewhat of a disapointment for Summit” PUH-LEEZ! $288 million as opposed to $296 millon?? GEESH! I’m sure Summit has absolutely no problem with that amount whatsoever.
The other thing is that those are the final run numbers for New Moon. Eclipse is still playing in theaters. And while it may not make another $8 mil in its run…those pretty good numbers!!!
There are also a few other things to consider too. Regal theaters bought out AMC theaters…then AMC bought out Kerasotes. So last year when I bought my tix for New Moon I was able to buy them in August even though the movie didn’t come out until Nov. Because of all the takeover, here in Indiana, Eclipse tickets didn’t go on sale in several theaters until about 2 weeks before the show.
#2…Summit comes off as WAY more than greedy. Fans put soooo much into this series of books/movies. And how does Summit repay all of these loyal fans??? By spreading out deleted scenes, extended scenes, and special features over three different stores. I love these movies and I always watch the extras on EVERY movie I own. And while I love these movies…I REFUSE to own 3 copies of the same movies just to see all the special features. $709 mil on the New Moon movie alone and Summit can’t put all the extras on ONE dvd. That’s greed.
after all the wait between these movies, Im going to need to re-read the books over again, which I guess isn’t too bad of an idea.
I wouldn’t be surprised if after EC’s full theatre run it makes more than NM. EC is the best movie of the 3 so far. And was closer to the book. It’s not unusual for movies that have a HUGE opening weekend to drop off. (The HP movies do.) I’ve only seen it twice but I want to go again!
Eclipse was rushed and there were some MAJOR changes and important scenes cut!!!!! Hello, motorcycle and Bella leaving???? She woudl NEVER do that to Edward!!!!! What happened to Bella being grounded? Bella NEVER said NO to Edward’s proposal she just didn’t answer, Edward never YELLED at Jacob after the punch scene in the book(even Stephenie had to leave that the set when that happened because they change the character so much), the fight scene couldn’t have been any shorter and Bella DID NOT see Jacob injured, Bella spending the night crying in Edward’s arms was key and missing, most of the romance and the night alone was shorted and lacking at best, graduation was a hack job and all of Bella figuring out what was going on was dismissed as well, the vampire and werewolf training was at night and should have been shown as such and barely there at that!!!! Why do these movies have to be 2 hours long? Don’t they understand if they were 3 hour movies we would be 2x as happy???????
Well…that just means I have 2 years of movies to look forward to!!!
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and Breaking Dawn!!!!
Personally, I think the Wednesday release ruined it. They should have released it on a Friday instead. The other problem is that just because kids are out of school does not mean they can go to the movies, kids are doing a lot on the summer. They have camps, vacations, and a lot of them have jobs in the summer. While it made a good sum of cash it could have done better being released on a Friday and probably in the Fall.
I think it stayed with the book, and I liked the addition of the newborn scenes based on the novella. I also liked jealous Edward better, and I like the way Kristen plays Bella, and stands up to Edward more then she does in the books.
I enjoyed Eclipse immensely, but it felt choppy and rushed. It needed 30 more mins. People will still see a movie that is 2 hours and 30 mins long. Hoping BD is better since it will be in two parts!
it sucks!! theres too much time between part 1 and 2!!cant stand waiting almost a year for part 1!
and this was one of the reasons why I was 100% completely against 2 parts (you can do BD keyword effectively in 3+ hours, if LOTR can do it Twilight can do it).
with Summer 2012 already crowded (and considering the ending probably wouldn’t fly in summer), we end up with the only logical decision -> back to the safety of November. at least if the world does end in 2012 we finished the saga beforehand.
answer = money!
just becauseit hasnt made as much money, doesnt mean its not better. Im seeing it for the first time this weekend, after having held off in the hopes of a UK Imax release first. Dissapointed that it hasnt happened, but at least im seeing it.
First off, Eclipse was very close to the book. The closest of all three, I think. As hard as it will be to wait an entire year between pt 1 and 2, at least it won’t be over! It is a business, and they want to get as much money out of BD as possible. BD will be a success because 1)breaking into 2 parts gives nearly complete assurance that they will use all or most of the material. They’ll have to in order to fill up 2 hours of film time. and 2) Stephenie is executive co-producer. She will NOT let anyone screw up the final book!
I loved Eclipse…but i do feel having read and reread the books so many times i could fill in the gaps – people who didnt read the books wouldnt have got significance of some parts. I also felt Bella was portrayed as quite rude/uncaring to Edwards feelings and that was definitely not so in the books. But heh filmmakers have to stay true to Team Edward & Jacob to keep both sides happy. ps have seen eclipse 6 times in cinema so far … Team Edward xx
there should be no “team Jacob” regarding Bella once she’s married. For goodness sake I wanna see her cleave to him and him only once she says her i-dos she’s made her choice. Eclipse seemed too pro Jacob.
However I REALLY liked the king bed scene;) If I could have a lot of that for BD that’s be great.
I am not pleased that they think that Nov-Dec is the “magic” time to release a movie! I do not want to wait a whole year to watch the conclusion to Breaking Dawn! That is going to drive me crazy!, and I think it is unnecessary
I’m totally going to get whiny while waiting for the second installment of Breaking Dawn. It’s just too long!!
Being sucha major fan of the books, I am sorry to say the movie disappointed me very much…..but even ppl who hvnt read the books wont be able to make much sense of Eclipse. True, they have tried to bring in as many angles as possible in the story….but none of the angles were fleshed out….fleeting shots, snatched dialogues…and as to the love triangle, which is the essence of the third part of the series was brushed off in a few kisses….And I so agree with Amy, once Belle is married….there is no question of any confusion as to feelings….
They shouldn’t have released Eclipse in summer.
Although I liked the fact of not-to-long waiting for Eclipse after I had seen New Moon, in the end, summer-time isn’t jsut the right atmosphere for a Twilight Movie. weather has to be..you know rainy..and dark…so you get into it again.
But well yeah…Summit.
I dont get why Summit doesn’t put more money into the movies.
Look at Warner Bros…they’re doing their BEST to produce good movies, decent piece of art.
“Granted, there is no need to shed any tears as the studio and series creator Stephenie Meyer are still swimming in profits as the picture only cost $65 million.”
yeah well..i could see that on Pattinson make-up.
I better not see that with renesmee.
grr
You know, you’re SO right! I also felt that it was too sunny outside when I went to watch Eclipse. Releasing it during Summer time wasn’t the greatest idea, although it did help me NOT ditching school!!
Why is Summit soooo greedy? Makes me mad, here we live in harder times and they are complaining over money? I guess when they make even more money over the DVD release they probably still will be disatisfied..ugh
I posted this on His Golden Eyes as well in response this article.
FACTS: After 34 days in release, Eclipse has made just shy of 289 million. On day 34, New Moon had made 277.5 – it took to day 48 for New Moon to be where Eclipse is at now and IT went on to make it to 296mil. That’s facts per Box Office Mojo. Yes, I’ve kept track because I have seen more than one article that tries to make it seem like Twilight is fading – but fact is, it looks like it gained a few fans this time around. Will it happen for Breaking Dawn – don’t know, but I bet they at least make the same – which is a statement to Hollywood that women like films where the woman is treasured not objectified(sp). And I personally liked New Moon a little better – I like to watch Eclipse over and over for the proposal and tent scene!!!!!
If you’re a RPattz fan, the news is still good. Bel Ami’s going to come out in December 2010 and a short 4 months later, Water For Elephants will be released on April 15, 2011 and WFE is going to be absolutely sensational. They thought about releasing it in December so that it could be considered for the academy awards for this year, but they didn’t want to rush the post-production process and they want to have plenty of time to do it right, and even so, they feel that this movie is so good that it will still be remembered and considered when academy award nominations are made for 2011 movies. So, take heart.
Hi
Please about the auditions of actors for BD you have any information or know where I can get them? If they occur in LA or Canada? Or when will it happen? Thanks
I wonder if Summit took into account that many teenagers have summer jobs, vacations w/ family and summer classes and suffer the same as adults when it comes to extra cash (a little thing called a recession).
For me, the whole thing with them not grossing as much cash in the summer makes sense. I really wanted to break my goal and see Eclipse 8 times (I saw Twilight and New Moon 7 times) in theaters, but here’s the catch: Because both Twilight and New Moon were out around Christmas time, I always asked “Santa” for a $40 gift card to the movie theater, and I used all of it to see the Twilight saga movie that was out.
For Eclipse, it’s a no go on the cash, and I have to save my summer job money. That explains at least why 40 of those 100,000,000 bucks haven’t showed up at their door. 
Why are we getting so defensive over how much Eclipse made? It’s not a representation of the movie itself…
I respectfully disagree with the analysis. By day 35 New Moon had made $277,918,499, day 35 for Eclipse (this past Tuesday) $289,545,112. That means Eclipse is over $11.6 million ahead of New Moon at the same number of release days. Internationally Eclipse doesn’t even premier in Japan until November and the Japanese market is a huge for the Twilight franchise. Further New Moon amassed it’s $296,623,634 of domestic gross in 133 days so if Eclipse is in the theaters for a similar period it only has a little over $7 million to get there in 98 days. Highly unlikely it won’t pass New Moon box office domestically in that time. By the way the Twilight franchise is currently 13 all time in frachise domestic box office. If parts ! and2 of Breaking Dawn do similar to the others it will probably finish at in 5 or 6 place of movie franchises of all time. James Bond is the number one franchise in the United States and it took 23 movies to do that. I don’t begrudge Summit their money. Right now MGM is in banruptcy and the latest James Bond movie has been cancelled.