Has Twilight Been Eclipsed by The Hunger Games?

Unprecedented success of The Hunger Games can't take a bite out of the vampire franchise's upcoming Breaking Dawn—Part 2—er, right?

By Joal Ryan Apr 01, 2012 5:00 PMTags
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With The Hunger Games sucking up box-office millions as much as attention, there's been little room left for the competition.

Does that include Twilight, too?  

The unprecedented success of The Hunger Games can't really take a bite out of the vampire franchise—er, can it?  

That would be a no.

"One franchise heating up isn't necessarily going to affect another franchise," says Wade Holden, an analyst for the research firm SNL Kagan. 

Indeed, since its online debut on Monday, the trailer for the (incorrectly?) presumed final Twilight film, Breaking Dawn—Part 2, quickly has racked up 7 million-plus views on its official YouTube channel. (The clip has been receiving no small amount of exposure in theaters, too, where it's shown before screenings of The Hunger Games.)

Breaking Dawn—Part 2 is scheduled to open Nov. 16. Its studio, which, following a merger, is also The Hunger Games' studio, expects the film to gross $700 million worldwide. That number would be on par with the franchise's two biggest movies, New Moon and Breaking DawnPart 1.

In the case of Harry Potter, the series' final film, Deathly Hallows: Part 2, ended up being its biggest.

Holden sees nothing that would rule out Breaking Dawn—Part 2 from taking the same path. Not even a certain red-hot dystopian drama.   

"The good thing about movies is you can be a fan of different franchises," Holden says. "You don't have to get tired of any of them."