First 'Twilight' flick to replay in theaters before 'New Moon' release

'Twilight' stars, from left, Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner, arrive on the red carpet during a windy evening in Tokyo. The trio was there in February 2009 to promote the Japanese release of the first 'Twilight' movie.

Katsumi Kasahara, Associated Press

"Twilight" stars, from left, Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner, arrive on the red carpet during a windy evening in Tokyo. The trio was there in February 2009 to promote the Japanese release of the first "Twilight" movie.

'Twilight' stars, from left, Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner, arrive on the red carpet during a windy evening in Tokyo. The trio was there in February 2009 to promote the Japanese release of the first 'Twilight' movie.

Katsumi Kasahara, Associated Press

"Twilight" stars, from left, Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart and Taylor Lautner, arrive on the red carpet during a windy evening in Tokyo. The trio was there in February 2009 to promote the Japanese release of the first "Twilight" movie.

HOLLYWOOD — Wanting to capitalize on the teen vampire movie craze it stirred last year, Summit Entertainment is planning to re-release “Twilight” in more than 2,000 theaters Nov. 19, the night before the arrival of the highly anticipated sequel, “The Twilight Saga: New Moon.”

Summit’s distribution executives have been in conversations with the nation’s theater owners about a one-night-only screening of “Twilight” at 9 p.m. or 9:30 p.m. before the 12:01 a.m. showings of “New Moon.” Plans are just now being formalized, according to one person with knowledge of the matter, who said that exhibitors are high on the idea.

Released in November, “Twilight,” the first film based on Stephenie Meyer’s bestselling book series, became a runaway hit both in theaters and on DVD. The movie, which stars Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson as chaste lovers, grossed $383.5 million at the worldwide box office and is this year’s top-selling DVD, with about 8 million units sold in the U.S. and Canada alone.

Even though the film is out on DVD, Summit is banking on herds of bloodthirsty teens coming back out for the social experience of sitting in a darkened theater, especially as excitement builds for “New Moon.” For theater owners, the two-for could be a huge windfall.

This would mark the second time Summit has re-released “Twilight” on the big screen. In July, the movie had a one-night-only theatrical release during the annual Comic-Con Convention in San Diego on the night before the studio showed exclusive footage of “New Moon” there.

© 2009 Knoxville.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Comments » 0

Be the first to post a comment!

Share your thoughts

Comments are the sole responsibility of the person posting them. You agree not to post comments that are off topic, defamatory, obscene, abusive, threatening or an invasion of privacy. Violators may be banned. Click here for our full user agreement.

Comments can be shared on Facebook and Yahoo!. Add both options by connecting your profiles.