| The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Bill Condon |
| Screenplay by | Melissa Rosenberg |
| Based on | Breaking Dawn byStephenie Meyer |
| Produced by |
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| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Guillermo Navarro |
| Edited by |
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| Music by | Carter Burwell |
Production companies |
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| Distributed by | Summit EntertainmentLionsgate |
Release dates |
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Running time | 115 minutes[2] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $136 million[3] |
| Box office | $868 million[4][5] |
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 is a 2012 AmericanVampireromantic fantasy film directed byBill Condon from a screenplay byMelissa Rosenberg, based on the 2008 novelBreaking Dawn byStephenie Meyer. It is the sequel toThe Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 (2011) and the fifth and final installment inThe Twilight Saga film series. The film starsKristen Stewart,Robert Pattinson, andTaylor Lautner, reprising their roles asBella Swan,Edward Cullen, andJacob Black, respectively;Mackenzie Foy portraysRenesmee Cullen. Theensemble cast includesBilly Burke,Peter Facinelli,Elizabeth Reaser,Kellan Lutz,Nikki Reed,Jackson Rathbone,Ashley Greene,Michael Sheen, andDakota Fanning. In the film, Bella, now a vampire, aligns with the Cullens, the werewolves, and other allies to facethe Volturi, who view her half-human, half-vampire child as a possible threat.
Summit Entertainment announced thatBreaking Dawn would be adapted into a two-part film on June 10, 2010.Principal photography for both parts began on November 1, 2010, and wrapped on April 22, 2011. The second part was shot inBaton Rouge andNew Orleans, Louisiana; andVancouver, Canada.
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 premiered at theNokia Theatre in Los Angeles on November 12, 2012, and was theatrically released in the United States on November 16, by Summit Entertainment.[6] The film received mixed reviews from critics and grossed $868 million worldwide, becoming thesixth-highest-grossing film of 2012, the highest-grossing film ofThe Twilight Saga series, and the highest-grossing film released by Summit Entertainment. The film received eleven nominations at the33rd Golden Raspberry Awards ceremony and won seven awards, includingWorst Picture making it the highest-grossing film to win the award.
The film continues from the events of theprevious film, asBella, who has just given birth, awakens from her human-to-vampire transformation. After her vampire husband Edward Cullen helps her tame her initial thirst for blood, Bella is introduced to their daughterRenesmee. The rest of the Cullens and Bella's werewolf friendJacob stay nearby, and when Jacob acts possessively towards Renesmee, Bella learns he has "imprinted" on her, a werewolf phenomenon that makes Jacob and Renesmee soul-mates.
Meanwhile, Bella's father,Charlie, has been trying to contact the Cullens for updates on Bella's health.Carlisle, the Cullen patriarch and a medical doctor, announces that they have to leaveForks, Washington, to protect their identities.
Jacob, desperate not to lose Renesmee, visits Charlie and tells him that Bella is alive and vaguely describes that she has transformed, revealing his wolf form to Charlie to persuade him to stop asking further questions. Charlie goes to the Cullen house to see Bella and meet Renesmee. He accepts that Bella is now recovered but somehow different, though he does not know what has changed or where Renesmee came from, instead accepting she is "adopted".
Several months pass with Carlisle monitoring Renesmee's rapid growth. The vampire Irina spots Renesmee in the forest and mistakenly assumes she is an "immortal child": a type of vampire transformed in childhood who, because it cannot be reasoned with or trained, sucks the blood out of humans uncontrollably. The creation of such children is outlawed by the vampire leadership,the Volturi, and anyone caught with one is executed on the spot. Irina reports the supposed crime to the Volturi.
After Edward's sisterAlice, who can see glimpses of the future, experiences a vision of the Volturi and Irina coming to kill the Cullens, she instructs the others to gather as many witnesses as they can to testify that Renesmee is not an immortal child.
As the Volturi serve punishments swiftly, the Cullens and their werewolf allies prepare for a possible battle. Bella soon realizes she has a special ability: a powerful mental shield that had protected her fromEdward's mind-reading even when she was human, which she is taught to extend to protect others from vampire superpowers.
The army of the Volturi arrives in Forks, led by Aro, who can read people's minds by touching them. Seeing the Cullens alongside their witnesses and allies, the Volturi hesitate. The Cullens are able to prove to Aro that Renesmee is not an immortal child.
However, the Volturi are eager to subdue the Cullens toforcibly enlist their talented members, so theysummarily execute Irina for her mistake to provoke the Cullens into battle. But before an all-out fight breaks out, Alice appears in time to give Aro her vision of the future if fighting ensues.
In Alice's violent vision, Carlisle, Aro, and several others on both sides are killed, including other Volturi, Cullens, and werewolves. Aro, despite being afraid of the vision, still wants to execute Renesmee as she might be a threat to the vampires' secrecy.
Alice reveals their final witness, aMapuche man from South America, who is a half-human half-vampire, just like Renesmee. He proves that he is not a threat, supporting the notion that Renesmee is not one either. The Volturi unhappily leave, Aro concluding that there will be no battle today.
Back at the Cullen home, Alice glimpses the future, seeing Edward and Bella greeting Jacob and a fully matured Renesmee, also a couple, on a sun-dappled beach. Edward reads Alice's mind and feels relieved that Renesmee has Jacob to protect her.
Alone in their favorite meadow, Bella pushes her mental shield away and finally allows Edward to see into her mind, showing him every moment they have shared together in amontage. They kiss after Bella tells him, "nobody has ever loved anybody as much as I love you", and he romantically responds "There’s one exception".
Gil Birmingham,Sarah Clarke,Michael Welch,Anna Kendrick,Christian Serratos,Justin Chon,Cam Gigandet,Edi Gathegi,Rachelle Lefevre,Kiowa Gordon,Tyson Houseman,Alex Meraz,Bronson Pelletier,Graham Greene,Tinsel Korey,Alex Rice,Xavier Samuel,Jodelle Ferland,Bryce Dallas Howard, and Carolina Virguez, from the previous films make archivalcameo appearances during the pre-credits montage accompanied by a duet version ofChristina Perri's "A Thousand Years" withSteve Kazee as the second voice.[7]
On June 10, 2010,Summit Entertainment announced that a two-part adaptation of the novelBreaking Dawn would start filming in November and made clear that all major actors would return for both parts.[7]
By August 2010, screenwriterMelissa Rosenberg said that the scripts forPart 1 and2 were 75 to 85 percent completed. She found the greatest challenge in writing the scripts to be the final sequence ofPart 2, explaining, "The final battle sequence is a big challenge because it lasts 25 pages. It's almost an entire three-act story in and of itself. You have to track [keep it all in one setting] hundreds of characters. It's an enormous challenge to choreograph on the page and forBill [Condon] to choreograph on the stage." She had written various drafts of the scene but, at the time, hadn't revised or discussed them with Condon yet. She said, "That's the next big hurdle to sit down with the stunt coordinator and create the ballet. It's a lot of work. I'm exhausted, but we're intent on making them the best scripts yet."[8] ProducerWyck Godfrey calledPart 2 "anaction film in terms of life-and-death stakes" and said that inPart 1 "there are the pangs of newlywed tension that occur that are relatable even in afantasy film. Marriage is not quite the experience that they thought it was."[9]
Godfrey considered releasing the second film in3D to differentiate between the time before and after Bella becomes a vampire, an idea originally proposed forThe Twilight Saga: Eclipse, but said that the decision was up to Condon. However, he said that if the second film were to be released in 3D, he would like to shoot it with the proper equipment in "real" 3D as was done withAvatar (2009), not convert it into 3D in post-production as was done withClash of the Titans (2010).[10][11]
Principal photography started on November 1, 2010, and wrapped on April 22, 2011, endingthe franchise's three years of production since March 2008. Filming was shot on location inBaton Rouge andNew Orleans,Louisiana; andVancouver, Canada. Filming also occurred atRaleigh Studios in Baton Rouge.[12]
On the subject of the final day and her final moment as Bella, Stewart stated, "After that scene, my true final scene, I felt like I could shoot up into the night sky and every pore of my body would shoot light. I felt lighter than I've ever felt in my life."[13]
In April 2012, the crew and some of the cast, including Pattinson and Stewart, returned for reshoots to pick up some additional shots for technical work. These re-shoots did not include any new scenes or dialogue.[14]
Tippett Studio first began working on the CGI (computer-generated imagery) wolves in February 2009 forThe Twilight Saga: New Moon, and the look of the creatures has evolved, becoming more photo-real over the course of the saga, with the input of three different directors. "It's a subtle balance of just how anthropomorphic these wolves are," says Eric Leven. "Bill [Condon] wanted to make sure that we had a sense of the human or the shapeshifter in there. Finding that balance of how much of a human performance versus an animal performance was important for Bill."
Leven adds, "Bill has always treated the wolves as characters and never as computer-generated things, and directs them in the same way he'd direct any actor. He would always give us direction like Sam should be angrier. It's the best way to work. His treating these creatures as characters, instead of just computer bits, was really great."
"Because we've been working on this franchise for such a prolonged period of time, we've been able to improve the look from show to show," commentsPhil Tippett. "Wolves generally are pretty darn clean and since Bill wanted the wolves rangier, that means a lot more fur matting and clumping, like they've lived out in the woods. We edged towards something a bit more feral."
"However, there is also a balance between look and technology," adds Tippett. "The body count of the wolves escalates and because we're adding a great deal more hair to get the right texture, that fur really ups the rendering time. We've gone from four wolves to eight to twelve, to sixteen inPart 2. So we have to be very careful about that balance because it takes hundreds of hours to render each wolf."[15]
It was revealed in January 2012 that the soundtrack forPart 2 had already started production.[16] Confirmed for the soundtrack in advance were "Heart of Stone" byIko, which plays when Edward and Bella are talking in the cottage after finding Alice's note and "Where I Come From" byPassion Pit, which will play when Bella wakes up from her transformation.[17] The lead single from the soundtrack is "The Forgotten", performed by the American rock bandGreen Day. "A Thousand Years, Pt. 2" by the American singerChristina Perri is also featured on the soundtrack album.
Carter Burwell, the composer ofTwilight andBreaking Dawn: Part 1, returned to score the final installment of the series.
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 earned $293 million in North America and $575 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $868 million.[4] The film is thesixth-highest-grossing film of 2012, and the highest-grossing film of theTwilight series. It had a $340.9 million worldwide opening, which was the eighth-largest ever, the largest for theTwilight franchise, and the largest for a film released outside the summer period.[18]
In North America, the film grossed $30.4 million in Thursday night and midnight showings, achieving the third-highest midnight gross[19][20] and the highest midnight gross of the franchise.[21][22]Breaking Dawn – Part 2 made $71.2 million on its opening day, which is the sixth-highest opening- and single-day gross as well as the third-highest of the franchise.[23] For its opening weekend, the movie earned $141.1 million,[24] which is the 13th-highest-grossing opening weekend of all time,[25][26] the second-highest-grossing of the franchise,[27] the third-largest November opening,[28] and the fourth-largest opening of 2012.[29] It retained first place in its second weekend by dropping 69.1% with a gross of $43.6 million over the three-day weekend and made a total of $64.4 million over the five-day Thanksgiving holiday weekend.[30] In its third weekend,Breaking Dawn Part – 2 held onto the number one spot again by dropping 60.1% and grossing $17.4 million.[31] It became the third-highest-grossing film of the franchise behindEclipse andNew Moon.[32]
Outside North America, the film opened on Wednesday, November 14, 2012, in six countries earning $13.8 million. By Thursday, it had opened in 37 territories, earning $38.8 million. In all territories, it opened with similar or higher earnings than its immediate predecessor.[33] Through its first Friday, it earned $91.0 million, after expanding to 61 territories.[34][35] By the end of its opening weekend (Wednesday–Sunday), it scored a series-best $199.5 million opening from 61 territories on 12,812 screens. This is the eighth-largest opening outside North America and the largest 2012 opening.[36]IMAX showings generated $3 million from 82 locations.[37] The film's largest openings were recorded in the UK, Ireland, and Malta ($25.2 million), Russia and theCIS ($22.0 million), and France and theMaghreb region ($17.9 million).[38] In Spain, it set a three-day opening-weekend record with $11.9 million.[39] In total earnings, its three highest-grossing markets after North America are the UK, Ireland, and Malta ($57.9 million), Brazil ($54.2 million), and Russia and the CIS ($42.8 million).[38]
AtRotten Tomatoes, the film has a 49% approval rating and an average score of 5.3/10 based on 200 reviews. The consensus states: "It's the most entertainingTwilight, but that's not enough to makeBreaking Dawn Part 2 worth watching for filmgoers who don't already count themselves among the franchise converts."[40] AtMetacritic, it has a weighted average score of 52 out of 100 based on reviews from 31 critics.[41] Audiences polled onCinemaScore gave it an average rating of "A".[42]
Todd McCarthy ofThe Hollywood Reporter wrote, "The final installment of the immortal Bella/Edward romance will give its breathlessly awaiting international audience just what it wants".[43] Owen Gleiberman ofEntertainment Weekly said, "Breaking Dawn: Part 2 starts off slow but gathers momentum, and that's because, with Bella and Edward united against the Volturi, the picture has a real threat".[44] Sara Stewart of theNew York Post wrote, "Finally, someone took the source material at its terribly written word and stopped treating the whole affair so seriously".[45] Justin Chang ofVariety praised the performance of Stewart by saying, "No longer a mopey, lower-lip-bitingemo girl, this Bella is twitchy, feral, formidable and fully energized, a goddess even among her exalted bloodsucker brethren".[46] Manohla Dargis ofThe New York Times said, "Despite the slow start Mr. Condon closes the series in fine, smooth style. He gives fans all the lovely flowers, conditioned hair and lightly erotic, dreamy kisses they deserve".[47]
Roger Ebert of theChicago Sun-Times gave the film two-and-a-half stars out of four, saying "its audience, which takes these films very seriously indeed, will drink deeply of its blood. The sensational closing sequence cannot be accused of leaving a single loophole, not even some of those we didn't know were there". He concluded by saying, "Breaking Dawn, Part 2 must be one of the more serious entries in any major movie franchise... it bit the bullet, and I imagine fans will be pleased."[48] Helen O'Hara ofEmpire gave the film a mixed review and said, "Fans will be left on a high; other viewers will be confused but generally entertained by a saga whose romance is matched only by its weirdness".[49]
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 was released onDVD andBlu-ray on March 2, 2013.[50] As of June 1, 2014,Breaking Dawn: Part 2 has sold 4,810,249 DVDs along with 1,224,869 Blu-ray Discs for $71,418,469 and $24,472,107, respectively, totaling $99,195,325.[51]
In September 2016,Lionsgate co-chairman Patrick Wachsberger stated that a sequel was "a possibility", but would only go ahead if Stephenie Meyer wanted to do one.[52] On August 8, 2017,Variety reported that Lionsgate CEOJon Feltheimer has interest in having spinoffs made forThe Twilight Saga, and wants to create a writers' room to explore the idea.[53]
| Year | Award | Category | Recipients | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Empire Cinemas Alternative Movie Awards | Best On-Screen Couple | Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) and Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) | Won | [54] |
| Best On-Screen Kiss | Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) and Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) | Won | |||
| Best Fight Scenes | Breaking Dawn – Part 2 | Won | |||
| Best Film Villain | Aro (Michael Sheen) | Won | |||
| Best Male Body | Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner) | Won | |||
| 2013 | Golden Raspberry Awards | Worst Picture | Breaking Dawn – Part 2 | Won | [55] |
| Worst Actor | Robert Pattinson | Nominated | |||
| Worst Actress | Kristen Stewart (forBreaking Dawn – Pt. 2 andSnow White and the Huntsman) | Won | |||
| Worst Supporting Actor | Taylor Lautner | Won | |||
| Worst Supporting Actress | Ashley Greene | Nominated | |||
| Worst Screen Couple | Mackenzie Foy and Taylor Lautner | Won | |||
| Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart | Nominated | ||||
| Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-off or Sequel | Breaking Dawn – Part 2 | Won | |||
| Worst Director | Bill Condon | Won | |||
| Worst Screenplay | Melissa Rosenberg andStephenie Meyer | Nominated | |||
| Worst Screen Ensemble | Entire cast ofBreaking Dawn – Part 2 | Won | |||
| 2013 | MTV Movie Awards | Best Shirtless Performance | Taylor Lautner | Won | [56] |
| 2013 | Moviefone Fonie Award | Most Extreme Role Adjustment | Kristen Stewart (forBreaking Dawn – Pt. 2 andOn the Road) | Won | [57] |
| 2013 | Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards | Favorite Movie Actress | Kristen Stewart | Won | [58] |
| 2013 | Nickelodeon UK Kids' Choice Awards | Favourite UK Actor | Robert Pattinson | Won | [59] |
| 2013 | People's Choice Awards | Favorite Movie Fan Following | Twihards | Won | [60] |
| 2013 | Richard Attenborough Film Award | British Performer of the Year | Robert Pattinson | Won | [61] |
| 2013 | Virgin Media Award | Hottest Movie Actor | Robert Pattinson | Won | [62] |
| Hottest Movie Actress | Kristen Stewart | Won | |||
| 2013 | Young Artist Award | Best Performance in a Feature Film – Supporting Young Actress | Mackenzie Foy | Nominated | [63] |
| 2013 | Teen Choice Awards | Choice Movie: Romance Actress | Kristen Stewart | Won | |
| Choice Movie: Scene Stealer | Kellan Lutz | Won | |||
| Choice Movie: Sci-Fi/Fantasy Actor | Taylor Lautner | Won | |||
| Choice Movie: Sci-Fi/Fantasy Actress | Kristen Stewart | Won | |||
| Choice Movie: Sci-Fi/Fantasy | Breaking Dawn – Part 2 | Won | |||
| Choice Movie: Romance Actor | Robert Pattinson | Won | |||
| Choice Movie: Romance | Breaking Dawn – Part 2 | Won |
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