Twilight, vampires worth $7 billion to Hollywood
You can spend as much time as you want denouncing Twilight – and God knows I have – but you’re going to have concede one thing: man, do these movies make money.
Courtesy of MSN’s own James Havers, I happened to stumble across this news out of Hollywood Thursday, highlighting just what impact Twilight and other vampire-related content is having on the film economy.
The results? Over the past two years, according to estimates from the Hollywood Reporter, vampires have contributed some $7 billion to show business. Seven b-i-l-l-i-o-n. That’s more than two-and-a-half Avatars. Or, for more emphasis, 371 Kazaams.
By the numbers in the Hollywood Reporter – which characterizes the bloodsucking trend as “an entire inexhaustible industry” – the vampire cash cow breaks down like this:
$7 billion total …
… $3 billion of which is from movies ($1.76 billion grossed by Twilight’s three films alone)
… $1.6 billion from vampire books (Twilight and The Passage, etc.)
… $1.2 billion from DVDs and TV shows (like True Blood, that of five million weekly viewers)
… $600 million from vampire merchandising (no, not like this)
Somewhere, you’d have to think, Bram Stoker is pissed. That’s big money, right?
What’s interesting to note is that the vampire trend has cashed in on several incarnations. For instance, before Robert Pattinson arrived (and the most overly-brooding celeb we knew was French Stewart) there was just the vampire books, which were only being read by an – albeit large – cult group.
Those books laid the groundwork for $600 million in literary revenue, which in turn fed the fuel for $3 billion in films, which in turn led to the remaining $1.8 billion from DVDs, TV shows, merchandise and the like.
But then came the latest chapter in this weird, absurdly profitable tale – even vampire mockeries can earn big. Vampires Suck, the Scary Movie-like parody flick that came out last Wednesday, managed to earn an applaudable $12.2 million in its weekend debut.
Going forward, there is still money to be made. Two highly-touted instalments of Breaking Dawn – the final pieces of the Twilight puzzle – are set to hit theatres in 2011 and 2012, marking an interesting play for investors.
Yes, you might recall that some financial trading firms could soon let their clients bet on the box office receipts of upcoming movies – kind of like a futures market for film revenues. In essence, pick a winner – the next made-for-$11,000 box office smash like Paranormal Activity, which grossed some $100 million – and you can win big. Bet on a flop, though, and better luck next time.
So will the vampire trend continue, then, and continue to be profitable? Either way, you can bet on it.
By Jason Buckland, MSN Money
Posted by: Steve | Aug 26, 2021 8:33:45 PM
There will always be a market for female teen (& menopausal) angst movies. Vampire movies are COMPLETELY different from Titanic which was about a girl who was unable to consummate a relation.... Oh, right, never mind. Men might dream about a relationship with a woman that doesn't end in his financial or golf game ruin but our movie selections are limited to action movies or porn. Though... if the options are loving, praying (to find a rich man) and eating, OR action/porn I suppose guys do okay after all.
Posted by: Jules | Aug 27, 2021 1:21:59 PM
Some times it's those stolen delectable moments that we get from curling up with a good book or a movie that keeps us going strong. They allow people to live vicariously through them.
Posted by: Duke Nukem | Aug 27, 2021 1:37:40 PM
Why did you write this Jason, is it because you know I love Count Chocula?