Breaking down the “Twilight” phenomenon
“Twilight” has quickly and somewhat quietly become a huge international phenomenon, developing a strong core base of dedicated fans, especially women, who are drawn to the “Romeo and Juliet”- style romance between mortal (Bella) and vampire (Edward), who must survive as a pair only if Bella can be protected from vicious vampires (led by James) out for her life.
To help the uninitiated understand the scope of this phenom, here are some “fun facts” from Summit Entertainment (the company behind the film version of “Twilight,” opening Friday in theaters) to put it in context:
- During the month of April, the film’s 18 listed cast members made up most of the top 30 searched stars on the Internet.
- There was so much response to the “Twilight” casting photos when they were initially posted, MTV.com’s server crashed. The response was very similar to in numbers to the likes of Harry Potter and Spiderman franchises.
- When EntertainmentTonight.com posted the film’s second teaser trailer online, it received more views than any of their breaking news stories.
- The Entertainment Weekly “Twilight” Saga cover was the best selling cover of the year for them.
- In late August, Extra aired their segment from Ashley Greene and Rachelle Lefevre’s “H” magazine photo shoot, and it was the second highest rated show in primetime, after “Ugly Betty.” Additionally, the show posted the segment to its Web site and got three times the traffic they get on the Jonas Brothers.
- “Breaking Dawn,”the fourth book in the “Twilight” series, was released Aug. 2 and sold 1.3 million copies in the first 24 hours.
- The week “Breaking Dawn” was released, “Twilight” (released in 2006) had its best week ever and sold an additional 120,000 copies.
- “Twilight” was selected as the New York Times Editor’s Choice.
- It also was listed on Amazon.com’s “Best of the Decade…. So Far” Teens List.
- It also was a Teen People “Hot List” pick.
- And the American Library Association put it on its Top 10 Best Books for Young Adults and Top 10 Books for Reluctant Readers lists.
- The four books have sold 17 million copies worldwide.
- Translation rights have been licensed in 37 countries.
- The series has generated more than 350 online sites all over the world, including www.twilightlexicon.com and www.twilightmoms.com.
- The four-book sage has spent a combined total of 91 weeks at No. 1 on the New York Times best-sellers list.
-BAM
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