The Twilight Saga: New Moon, commonly referred to as New Moon, is a 2009 American romantic fantasy film based on Stephenie Meyer's 2006 novelNew Moon. It is the second film in The Twilight Saga film series and is the sequel to 2008's Twilight. Summit Entertainment greenlit the sequel in late November 2008, following the early success of Twilight.[2] Directed by Chris Weitz, the film stars Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, and Taylor Lautner,[3]reprising their roles as Bella Swan, Edward Cullen, and Jacob Black, respectively. Melissa Rosenberg, who handed in a draft of the film script during the opening weekend of Twilight, returned as screenwriter for New Moon as well.[4]
Filming began in Vancouver in late March 2009,[5][6][7] and in Montepulciano, Italy in late May 2009.[8][9] The film was released on November 20, 2009 in most countries, and set domestic box office records as the biggest midnight screening, grossing $26.3 million, which was superseded by its sequel,Eclipse. This led to the highest single day, domestic gross on an opening day, with $72.7 million,[10] until it was beaten in 2011 by Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2, which made $91.1 million, by nearly $20 million.[11]Furthermore, New Moon opened with the third highest domestic opening weekend since 2002 grossing a total of $142,839,137.[10] The film also became the highest-grossing film released by Summit Entertainment, and was the widest independent release, playing in over 4,100 theaters in its theatrical run, until it was surpassed by The Twilight Saga: Eclipse.[12]
New Moon was released on DVD and Blu-ray Disc on March 20, 2010 through midnight release parties.[13] As of July 2012, $184,916,451 in North American DVD sales, selling more than 8,835,501 units,[14] 4 million of which were sold within its first weekend, beating Twilight's 3.8 million units sold in its first two days.[15] The film was well received by fans,[16] but received generally negative reviews from critics.
On her eighteenth birthday, Bella Swan wakes up from a dream in which she sees herself as an old woman. She expresses her distaste about growing older than her boyfriend Edward Cullen, a vampire who stopped aging physically at seventeen. Despite her lack of enthusiasm, Edward's adoptive family throw Bella a birthday party. While unwrapping a gift, Bella gets a paper cut. Edward's brother, Jasper, becomes overwhelmed by the scent of Bella's blood and attempts to kill her. Realizing the danger that he and his family pose to Bella, Edward ends their relationship, and the Cullens leave Forks, Washington.
Edward's departure leaves Bella heartbroken and depressed for months; however, when her father, Charlie, finally decides to send her to live with her mother in Florida, Bella declines and agrees to spend more time with her friends. After seeing a movie with Jessica, Bella sees a group of men on motorcycles. This reminds her of when Edward previously rescued her from an assault, and she sees his image warning her to keep away. Bella discovers that any thrill-seeking activities she engages in evoke Edward's preserved image. She is also comforted by Jacob Black, a cheerful companion who helps to ease her pain over losing Edward. When Jacob suddenly begins avoiding her, Bella discovers that he, and others of his tribe, are descended from a long line of werewolves, and Jacob has just undergone his first transformation. Bella also learns that the werewolves are an age-old enemy of vampires. Jacob's pack members are on constant alert for Victoria, a vampire seeking to avenge the death of her mate, James, who was killed by Edward after James kidnapped and tried to kill Bella. They rescue Bella from Laurent, when he tries to kill her. With Jacob busy coming to terms with his shape-shifting nature, Bella again finds herself alone, and she returns to seeking thrill-inducing activities.
Bella jumps off a cliff into the ocean, believing Edward will come and save her. Alice sees this in her vision and Edward believes that Bella committed suicide. Instead, Jacob saves her without Edward's knowledge and she and Jacob are about to kiss, but he ceases himself to do so. Edward travels to Italy and attempts to provoke the Volturi (powerful coven who act as vampiric overlords) to kill him by exposing himself as a vampire to humans. Alice, Edward's sister, and Bella travel to Italy to save Edward, and arrive just in time to stop him. Edward explains that he always loved Bella and only left to protect her. However, the Volturi determine that Bella, a human who knows that vampires exist, must either be killed or transformed into a vampire herself. Alice stops them from killing her by sharing her premonition, in which Bella has been transformed, with Aro, a Volturi elder who is able to read thoughts through touch. Soon after, they return to Forks and Cullens again settle themselves in Forks. Bella asks Edward to transform her and Cullens vote in favor of that much to Edward and Rosalie's dismay. Later, Jacob reminds Edward, the treaty Cullens and Quileutes made years before that they will not attack each other, as long as the Cullens do not feed on any humans, a necessity for Bella's transformation. The movie concludes with Edward telling Bella that he will change her into a vampire after she marries him.
| The Twilight Saga: New Moon | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Chris Weitz |
| Produced by |
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| Screenplay by | Melissa Rosenberg |
| Based on | New Moon by Stephenie Meyer |
| Starring | Kristen Stewart Robert Pattinson Taylor Lautner Ashley Greene Rachelle Lefevre Billy Burke Peter Facinelli Elizabeth Reaser Nikki Reed Kellan Lutz Jackson Rathbone Anna Kendrick Michael Sheen Dakota Fanning |
| Music by | Alexandre Desplat |
| Cinematography | Javier Aguirresarobe |
| Edited by | Peter Lambert |
Production
company | |
| Distributed by | Summit Entertainment |
Release dates
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Running time
| 130 minutes[1] 138 minutes (Extended cut) |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $50 million[1] |
| Box office | $709.7 million[1] |
