Why Twilight is Genius

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Good, now listen up, this is from a box office perspective, this is why Summit Entertainment studio heads are some of the smartest people alive.

Summit somehow acquired the rights to the enormously (and oddly) popular Twilight franchise for pittance. Since the books require little in the way of a massive budget, and Summit had little cash to spare, they churned out the first film for a mere $37 million. It went on to make $192 million domestically, and $216 million overseas. $408 million worldwide vs. $37 million budget. Dayang.

However, Summit realized the Twilight craze would soon fade, and managed to churn out a sequel in less than a year. Where most studios would double the first film's tiny budget, Summit kept cool, raising the budget only $13 million, to $50 million. New Moon handily broke the all-time opening day record, with $73 million dollars in the till after only 24 hours. It went on to make $297 million domestically and $413 million overseas. $709 million worldwide vs. $50 million budget. Shoot.

At this point even the most conservative studio execs would lose their restraint and green-light a production of $100 million plus. Twilight Saga: Eclipse comes out at the end of June, with a mere $65 million price-tag.

I salute you, Summit. But the real genius perhaps lies in the fact that the Twilight films require little money to make, and bring in the big bucks. Love it or hate it, Twilight is a phenomenon, and it will be gone soon, which is why the fourth film has recently been split into two, to make it last that much longer.