E1 Films' Twilight Tops the Box Office as the No.1 Film in Canada
24 November 2008
Production for Second Installment in Twilight Franchise Announced
TORONTO, Nov. 24 /CNW/ - E1 Films' Twilight took a bite out of the competition this weekend taking in an estimated $5,640,000 at the box office to become the number one film in Canada. The film opened on 495 screens across the country. Released by Summit Entertainment in the U.S., Twilight was the No.1 film in North America earning an estimated $70 million.
Production is also moving forward on New Moon, based on the second novel in Stephenie Meyer's best-selling Twilight series, which has sold 25 million copies worldwide. Entertainment One, which holds the Canadian rights to both films across all media via E1 Films Canada, also owns the UK rights through its wholly owned subsidiary E1 Films / Contender. Twilight will be released in the UK on December 19th.
Last week Twilight broke all previous Canadian records when advance sales for tickets topped $1 million. Theatres across the country counted multiple sold out shows and lineups of fans eager to see the immensely popular literary phenomenon come to life on the big screen.
Twilight is the story of the passionate and unexpected romance between a teenage girl and a mysterious and irresistible vampire. Kristen Stewart (Into the Wild) and Robert Pattinson (Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix) star as a post-modern Romeo and Juliet in an action-filled and suspenseful adventure with a supernatural bite. Twilight also stars Taylor Lautner ("My Own Worst Enemy"), Billy Burke ("24"), Peter Facinelli ("Damages"), Nikki Reed (Thirteen), Cam Gigandet (Never Back Down) and Canadian actress Rachelle Lefevre ("Swingtown"). The film is directed by Catherine Hardwicke (Thirteen) with screenplay by Melissa Rosenberg.
Twilight is a Temple Hill production in association with Maverick Films/Imprint Entertainment. The film is produced by Mark Morgan, Greg Mooradian and Wyck Godfrey, and executive produced by Karen Rosenfelt.
Entertainment One signed a multi-territory distribution agreement in September 2007 for feature films from Summit Entertainment through 2010. Upcoming titles include sci-fi action thriller Push starring Djimon Hounsou, Dakota Fanning, Chris Evans and Camilla Belle; supernatural thriller Knowing from Alex Proyas starring Nicolas Cage and Rose Byrne; Rian Johnson's The Brothers Bloom with Mark Ruffalo and Academy Award(R) winners Rachel Weisz and Adrien Brody; and music-driven comedy Bandslam starring Disney superstars Vanessa Hudgens and Aly Michalka, and Lisa Kudrow.
About Entertainment One
Entertainment One Ltd. (LSE: ETO) is a leading independent entertainment company with operations in the United States, the UK, Canada, Holland and Belgium. The company's strategy is to become the world's largest owner and distributor of independent film, television and music content through acquisitions and organic growth.
Entertainment One's rapidly expanding content library currently includes more than 3,700 feature films and thousands of half-hours of television content. In addition, the company owns Koch Entertainment, the largest independent record label in North America.
For further information:
Barb Matheson, Director,
Publicity & Communications,
E1 Films Canada, (416) 646-4980,
bmatheson@entertainmentone.ca