[5][6] The series had been in development since 2004 at Paramount Pictures' MTV Films, during which time a screen adaptation of Twilight that differed significantly from the novel was written.

After Twilight grossed $35.7 million on its opening day,[9] Summit Entertainment announced they would begin production on New Moon; they had acquired the rights to the remaining novels earlier that same month.

When Summit Entertainment reinvented itself as a full-service studio in April 2007, it acquired the rights, seeking to create a film franchise based on the book and its sequels.

"[17] Hardwicke suggested using voice over to convey the protagonist's internal dialogue,[15] since the novel is told from Bella's point of view; and she sketched some of the storyboards during pre-production.

[46] To make their bodily movements more elegant, and to get used to their characters' fighting styles, the cast playing vampires participated in rehearsals with a dance choreographer and observed the physicality of different panthera.

[41][51] It is suggested that Edward drives a "shiny" and "silver" Volvo S60-R, a fast sleeper car that doesn't call attention to the Cullen family's wealth in the novel series.

[52][53] In early November 2008, Summit announced that they had obtained the rights to the remaining books in Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series: New Moon, Eclipse and Breaking Dawn.

[56] Instead, Chris Weitz, director of The Golden Compass and co-director of American Pie, was hired to direct The Twilight Saga: New Moon.

[73] With this announcement, it was made clear that all major actors, including the three lead roles, the Cullen family and Charlie Swan, would return for both parts.

[73] In order to keep the budget on both parts of Breaking Dawn reasonable, which would be substantially greater than the previous installments in the series, filming in Louisiana was also negotiated, providing larger tax credits for the studio to benefit from.

Jacob Black and the rest of the wolves form a temporary alliance with the Cullens to battle Victoria and her army of newborn vampires to keep Bella safe.

[4] It set a new record for biggest midnight opening in domestic (United States and Canada) in box office history, grossing an estimated $30 million in over 4,000 theaters.

[83] The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn was directed by Bill Condon, and author Stephenie Meyer co-produced the film along with Karen Rosenfelt and Wyck Godfrey, with Melissa Rosenberg penning the script.

[86] On August 8, 2017, Variety reported that Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer had interest in having spinoffs made for The Twilight Saga, and wanted to create a writers' room to explore the idea.

[88] On November 26, 2023, Catherine Hardwicke went on The Happy Sad Confused podcast created by Josh Horowitz for the debut film's 15th anniversary and discussed a possible pitching idea with Jacob Elordi and Jenna Ortega for the new Lionsgate reboot.

[95][96] Twilight: The Score was composed and orchestrated by Carter Burwell over a nine- to ten-week period, and was recorded and mixed in about two weeks in late September 2008.

[101] The Twilight Saga: New Moon: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack was released on October 16, 2009[102] by Patsavas' Chop Shop label, in conjunction with Atlantic Records.

[105] The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1: (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) saw the release of two singles: "A Thousand Years" by Christina Perri and "It Will Rain" by Bruno Mars.

[110] The film set records as the biggest midnight opening in domestic (United States and Canada) box office history, grossing an estimated $26.3 million in 3,514 theatres, before expanding to 4,024 theaters.

[2] This opening strongly contributed to another record: the first time that the top ten films at the domestic box office had a combined gross of over $100 million in a single day.

New York Press critic Armond White called Twilight "a genuine pop classic",[119] and praised Hardwicke for turning "Meyer's book series into a Brontë-esque vision".

"[123] The Seattle Post-Intelligencer gave the film a "B" grading and said, "the movie looks tremendous, the dialogue works, there are numerous well placed jokes, the acting is on point.

"[126] The release of the movie has also inspired feminist criticism, with Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly making light of the claim that Edward Cullen is little better than a stalker.

[130] One review stated the film was the best in The Twilight Saga so far, acknowledging that, "The person who should be worried is Bill Condon, the director tapped for the two-part finale, Breaking Dawn.

Scott of The New York Times praised David Slade's ability to make an entertaining film, calling it funny and better than its predecessors, but pointed out the acting hasn't improved much.

[132] A more negative review said that while "Eclipse restores some of the energy New Moon zapped out of the franchise and has enough quality performances to keep it involving", the film "isn't quite the adrenaline-charged game-changer for love story haters that its marketing might lead you to believe.

He also predicted that a lack of understanding for the film series in general would not bode well with the audience, stating: "I doubt anyone not intimately familiar with the earlier installments could make head or tails of the opening scenes."

[157][158] In 2012, another parody film, Breaking Wind, featuring a cast of unknown actors, was released straight to DVD by Lionsgate Home Entertainment.

[160][161] The successful animated film Hotel Transylvania briefly parodied the Twilight Saga, namely the scene in which Edward reveals his vampirism to Bella in the woods near Forks High School.

The scene, which lasts only a few seconds, can be seen playing on an airplane TV as Count Dracula attempts to convince Jonathan to forgive him and come back to Hotel Transylvania.