Twisters is a 2024 Americandisaster film directed byLee Isaac Chung from a screenplay byMark L. Smith, based on a story byJoseph Kosinski. Serving as astandalone sequel toTwister (1996), it starsDaisy Edgar-Jones,Glen Powell,Anthony Ramos,Brandon Perea,Maura Tierney, andSasha Lane. It follows clashing groups ofstorm chasers who investigate atornado outbreak inOklahoma.

Twisters
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Lee Isaac Chung
Screenplay by	Mark L. Smith
Story by	Joseph Kosinski
Based on	Characters by Michael Crichton Anne-Marie Martin
Produced by	Frank Marshall Patrick Crowley
Starring	Daisy Edgar-Jones Glen Powell Anthony Ramos Brandon Perea Maura Tierney Sasha Lane
Cinematography	Dan Mindel
Edited by	Terilyn A. Shropshire
Music by	Benjamin Wallfisch
Production companies	Universal Pictures Warner Bros. Pictures Amblin Entertainment The Kennedy/Marshall Company
Distributed by	Universal Pictures (United States and Canada) Warner Bros. Pictures (International)
Release dates	July 8, 2024 (2024-07-08) (Cineworld Leicester Square) July 19, 2024 (2024-07-19) (United States)
Running time	122 minutes[1]
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$155 million
Box office	$371 million[2][3]

Talks for a sequel toTwister began in 2020, with Kosinski pitching an idea toUniversal Pictures andHelen Hunt, who starred in the original, also expressing interest in a follow-up that was ultimately rejected. Several directors were approached before Chung was hired in December 2022. The cast joined in early-2023 and filming taking place around Oklahoma that summer, with a brief hiatus due to theSAG-AFTRA strike.

Twisters premiered at theCineworld Leicester Square in London on July 8, 2024, and was released internationally byWarner Bros. Pictures on July 10 and in the United States and Canada by Universal Pictures on July 19. It received generally positive reviews from critics and grossed $371 million worldwide.

Meteorology student Kate Carter works inOklahoma withstorm chasers Javi, Praveen, Addy, and Kate's boyfriend Jeb, to test a theory that launchingsodium polyacrylate beads into atornado might reduce its intensity. The attempt is unsuccessful as the tornado suddenly intensifies into anEF5, killing Jeb, Addy, and Praveen while Javi and Kate survive. Wracked with guilt, Kate quits storm chasing.

Five years later, Kate works at anNOAA office inNew York City. Javi, working formobile tornado radar company StormPAR, offers Kate a position with his team to test a new tornado scanning system usingphased-array radar. Kate initially declines until Javi sends a news report about a tornado that destroyed a town. Kate and Javi join the StormPAR team in Oklahoma, including Javi's business partner Scott. Meanwhile, popularYouTube storm chaser Tyler Owens, known as the "Tornado Wrangler", also arrives fromArkansas looking to capitalize on a predictedtornado outbreak. Tyler is joined by his crew of Boone, Dani, Dexter, and Lily, as well as British journalist Ben who is writing a piece on storm chasing.

StormPAR and Tyler's crew chase an EF1 tornado that touched down on a nearby wind farm, which the StormPAR team intend to scan using three radar scanners. Kate suffers apanic attack, rendering her unable to help Javi set up the final scanner. The next day, the team tracks a storm that produces another EF1 and asatellite that splits off. StormPAR chases the satellite as it intensifies into an EF3; they successfully deploy the scanners, although one is lost to the tornado while Kate and Javi barely escape its path. They drive to the nearby tornado-ravaged town of Crystal Springs to help recovery efforts, along with Tyler's crew. Having initially dismissed Tyler and his team as glory hounds, Kate is surprised to learn they use merchandise profits to aid tornado victims while StormPAR investor Marshall Riggs profiteers from StormPAR's work by purchasing tornado-damaged land at low prices.

That night, Tyler invites Kate to a nearbyrodeo inStillwater. An EF4 tornado rapidly develops with little warning, forcing Kate, Tyler, and others to take shelter in an empty motel pool. In the aftermath, Kate confronts Javi about Riggs' intentions, causing an offended Javi to blame her for their friends' deaths. Distraught, Kate retreats to her mother's farm inSapulpa. Tyler follows her and uncovers Kate's past research. Kate initially declines Tyler's offer to help retry the experiment but later accepts when Tyler points out it can still give people a fighting chance against tornadoes. The next day, they release the beads into a passing tornado, but it fails to dissipate. Using data scans provided by an apologetic Javi, Kate hypothesizes launchingsilver iodide into the tornado to ensure dissipation.

Kate joins Tyler and his team as they track a tornado nearEl Reno, with the StormPAR team also in pursuit. The tornado becomes rain-wrapped and nearly hits Javi and Scott, who escape as thetornado catches fire from hitting an oil refinery. The tornado rapidly intensifies into a mile-wide EF5 that begins shifting towards El Reno. As Kate and the Wranglers head into town, Javi abandons Scott, quits his partnership with Riggs and StormPAR, and heads to El Reno to help after finally realizing how callous Riggs and his team are.

Kate, Tyler, and their team, learning that shelters are full, evacuate the remaining townspeople into a movie theater when a derailed streetcar and debris traps Tyler. As Kate struggles to free him, Javi arrives to help save Tyler. With no basement to take shelter in and the tornado heading straight for the theater, Kate drives Tyler's truck into the tornado's center. She fires the silver iodide into it, and after a brief struggle with the controls, she successfully launches the polyacrylate beads. The tornado rips the theater open, nearly pulling Lily and Tyler out, but the countermeasures take effect and the tornado dissipates.

Sometime later, as Kate waits at the airport for her flight back to New York City, Tyler shows up and attempts to persuade Kate to stay. Upon learning a tornado has delayed her flight, Kate departs with Tyler to storm chase. A closing montage shows that Ben's story focused on Kate and that Kate, Tyler, Javi, and the Wranglers have started a new tornado radar business.

In 2020,Joseph Kosinski met withAmblin Entertainment andthe Kennedy/Marshall Company topitch a follow-up to the 1996 filmTwister revolving around a "new generation" of storm chasers.^[4]: 5 In June 2020,Universal Pictures announced it was meeting with writers to develop thereboot, withFrank Marshall attached as a producer and Kosinski in early negotiations as director.^[5] Around the same time, the studio rejected plans fromTwister actressHelen Hunt to direct a sequel. That version, written by Hunt,Rafael Casal, andDaveed Diggs, who collaborated on the television seriesBlindspotting, would have followed "all black and brown storm chasers", members of a rocket science club at ahistorically black college and university.^[6][7] In October 2022, Amblin, Universal, andWarner Bros. met with directors forTwisters, a sequel being fast-tracked for an early 2023 production start afterSteven Spielberg, an executive producer of the original film, expressed enthusiasm for a script byMark L. Smith. Filmmaking coupleJimmy Chin andElizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi,Travis Knight, andDan Trachtenberg were in talks to helm the project, Kosinski having dropped out to directF1 (2025). The studio reportedly wanted Hunt to reprise her role, with the hopes of the story focusing on the daughter of her andBill Paxton's characters.^[8]

In December 2022,Lee Isaac Chung was hired to direct the nowstandalone sequel.^[10] Chung's pitch to Marshall, Spielberg, and executive producer Jay Sandberg included a presentation that intercut footage fromTwister and his ownMinari, a semi-autobiographicalindie drama that cost $2 million, specifically a scene in which characters experience atornado watch.^[9][11][12] Chung credited his time atLucasfilm directing an episode ofThe Mandalorian as accustoming him to projects with visual effects and noted growing up intornado alley as inspiration.^[11][13] In preparation forTwisters, he revisited the original film; Spielberg'sJaws (1975) andWar of the Worlds (2005) (described by him as "movies about powerful forces of nature or monstrous things coming at you or looming above you"); "driving movies" such asThe French Connection (1971) andGone in 60 Seconds (2000); andAkira Kurosawa'sSeven Samurai (1954) andRan (1985) (for inspiration in capturing weather through camera movement).^{[4]: 9 [14]} Character dynamics were influenced by the films ofFrank Capra andHoward Hawks, especiallyIt Happened One Night (1934) andThe Big Sky (1952).^[12][15] Chung was inspired to approachGlen Powell for a lead role after seeing an appearance of his on an episode of the morning showToday; Powell was contacted while filmingAnyone but You (2023) in Australia to do a chemistry read withDaisy Edgar-Jones overZoom.^{[4]: 13–14 [16]} Edgar-Jones suggested that her character, Kate, have a camera, in reference to the documentaryFire of Love (2022) about volcanologistsKatia and Maurice Krafft; the character was partially inspired byDorothy Gale inThe Wizard of Oz (1939).^[14] Cast members attended a "weather boot camp" to learn about tornadoes from meteorologists and storm chasers. The program was organized by meteorologist and formerNOAA analyst Kevin Kelleher, atechnical advisor on bothTwister films.^{[4]: 6, 12 [17]} Paxton's son,James, has acameo as a motel guest who tries driving away from a tornado.^[18][19]

Principal photography was initially set for the state of Georgia, outsideAtlanta, forbudgetary reasons. Instead, it commenced in May 2023 inOklahoma, where the story takes place, marking Chung's return to the state afterMinari.^{[4]: 9–10 [20][21]} The move cost the crew work days and resulted in the removal of some storm sequences.^[21] Filming was to take place atPrairie Surf Studios for 40 days and in metroOklahoma City for 50 days.^[22] Ultimately, the shoot took 60 days, approximately 70 percent of which was spent capturing driving scenes.^{[4]: 9 [17]} Other locations included the towns ofBurbank,Calumet,Cashion,Chickasha,Fairview,Hinton,Kingfisher,Kremlin,El Reno,Midwest City,Okarche,Pawhuska, andSpencer.^[22][23] Filming was suspended in July due to theSAG-AFTRA strike.^[24] As six weeks of prep time were necessary to resume production, despite only having three weeks of material to film, the crew began prepping sets before the strike was over.^[4]: 11 Production resumed with the strike's conclusion in November and wrapped the following month.^[25][26]Dan Mindel was the cinematographer.^[4]: 29 Patrick Sullivan, who worked on the original film's art department, was the production designer.^[4]: 22

Twisters was shot on35 mm film, at Chung's request after receiving support from Spielberg and Mindel, withPanavision Panaflex Millennium XL2 and handheldArriflex 435 and235 cameras fromArri, using Panavision T-Series, C-Series and Primoanamorphic lenses.^{[4]: 30 [11]} In preparation for the film, Mindel watched Westerns,road films, and films produced during theGolden Age of Hollywood set inrural America. He listedThe Last Picture Show (1971) as an influence on the film's "Americana" style.Dailies were processed in Los Angeles, so the crew could not review their footage for several days. To maintaincontinuity, Mindel aimed to film underovercast weather, unless the script asked for blue skies.^[4]: 30 Because the shoot occurred duringtornado season, delays were frequent.^[27] "It was happening every three days or so," Chung recalled, "We were always getting shut down—lightning, wind storms, and then storms that were producing tornadoes came through as well."^[28] Challenges arose in El Reno due to heat waves, lightning storms, and strong winds, as well as the presence of "a jet engine on set that you could barely talk over" and the need for a bright, hotkey light to produce the "feeling of a storm-like sky", according to Chung.^[21] A set of an El Reno farmer's market was destroyed by a storm with 80-mile-per-hour winds, forcing the crew to rebuild it so they could destroy it again for a scene.^{[4]: 26–27 [27]} A former military meteorologist was hired to monitor weather conditions with a squad of radar watchers, and film safety experts enforced protocols for shutting down production and sheltering when necessary.^{[4]: 10–11}

The prologue was shot during the first week. It utilized practical effects such as hail, rain, and wind machines to simulate the storm, though the overpass that characters hide under was enclosed inblue screen. While parts of the sequence were filmed on location, the overpass was rebuilt on a makeshift studiobacklot near Prairie Surf Studios.^{[4]: 21, 28} Three locations—Crystal Springs, Stillwater, and El Reno–are ravaged in the film by tornadoes. Scenes set in El Reno were filmed on location, while a 4-block stretch of land in Chickasha stood in for Crystal Springs and Midwest City portrayed Stillwater.^{[4]: 23–27} Early versions of the script had the Stillwater tornado surround a college baseball game, but Chung suggested changing it to arodeo.^[4]: 24 The pool of the motel where characters take shelter was constructed for the film; a hole was dug out of the motel's lawn and, since the pool is empty, no plumbing was required. After the shoot, the pool was removed and the hole was filled to restore the lawn.^[4]: 26 The theater sequence was shot onsoundstages at Prairie Surf, using vintage seats from a closed Colorado movie theater; exterior shots were filmed in El Reno.^{[4]: 27 [12]} It was Chung's decision for the characters to be viewingFrankenstein (1931), a reference to Universal's"monsters" franchise.^[12][29] Kate's mother's farmhouse was located in the town ofHowe. The accompanying barn was initially a metal shed, which the art department skinned with wood from Missouri to resemble an Oklahoma barn. The barn's interior was built at Prairie Surf.^[4]: 27 Two versions of the ending were filmed; one where Kate and Tyler kiss, and the one in the film, in which they do not. Spielberg suggested the non-kiss take to solidify that Kate's character arc was about her returning passion for storm chasing.^[30][31]

The film's tornadoes were created usingspecial andvisual effects, referencing footage ofsupercell clouds and real tornadoes shot by technical consultants, including storm chaserSean Casey. The tornado in the finale was inspired by the2013 El Reno tornado, the2021 Western Kentucky tornado, and awedge tornado that struck Kansas in 2023.^{[4]: 33–34 [12]}Scott R. Fisher andBen Snow were thespecial andvisual effects supervisors, respectively. Special effects included wind fans running at around 70 miles per hour; twojet engines operating further away from the sets at 170-to-180 miles per hour; dump tanks; high-pressure pneumatic water cannons; andpolyacrylamide for hail. Visual effects were handled byIndustrial Light & Magic.^{[4]: 34–35}Terilyn A. Shropshire was the editor.^[32] Chung said the most challenging part about makingTwisters was balancing the tone because he wanted to entertain audiences while simultaneously taking the natural disasters seriously due to their real-world impacts.^[21] In June 2023, amid filming,The Oklahoman reported the production budget forTwisters as nearing $200 million.^[22] In July 2024, the budget was listed as $155 million beforeprint and advertising costs.^[33][34]

Benjamin Wallfisch composed the film's score.^[35] The soundtrack,Twisters: The Album, was released on July 19, 2024, on CD,LP, and digital download byAtlantic Records.^[36][37] It features 29 songs from primarilycountry acts, includingLuke Combs,Miranda Lambert,Bailey Zimmerman,Megan Moroney,Tucker Wetmore,Tanner Adell,Jelly Roll, and others.^[38][39] Combs' "Ain't No Love in Oklahoma" led the soundtrack as asingle on May 16, with few singles released in the subsequent weeks prior to the film's release.^[38]

Twisters premiered atCineworld Leicester Square inLondon on July 8, 2024. Notably attending the event wasTom Cruise, who worked with Powell onTop Gun: Maverick in 2022.^[40] The film also screened at theTaormina Film Fest inItaly in July 2024.^[41] The film was released in the United States by Universal Pictures on July 19, 2024, and early in some international markets by Warner Bros. Pictures, beginning on July 10.^[42][43] It was also released throughdigital formats on August 13, 2024,^[44] and on 4K, Blu-ray, and DVD byUniversal Pictures Home Entertainment andWarner Bros. Home Entertainment (both underStudio Distribution Services) on October 22.^[45]

TheTwisters soundtrack accumulated over 175 million streams between May 29 and its theatrical release; Universal released one song per week for ten weeks, then a song per day the final week. In addition, the studio partnered with radio personalityBobby Bones. Sporting events were significant in raising awareness to the film. Universal worked withNASCAR for co-branded promo as well asMLB,Copa América, andWWE. The 30-secondtelevision spot broadcast duringSuper Bowl LVIII amassed 29.2 million views in a day and was among the year's most-watched Super Bowl trailers. Commercials for the film aired during events forAll Elite Wrestling, NASCAR, theOlympic Trials,UEFA Euro Cup,UFC, and theWNBA. Universal strategically put tickets on sales during the first game of the2024 NBA Finals, made content withDodge RAM andWrangler, and had the cast participate in a cross-country promotional tour that exceeded New York and Los Angeles and made stops in Dallas, Chicago, and Miami. Special screenings were held in Oklahoma and military bases, and discussions were held between the cast and meteorologists. As a result of the marketing,Deadline Hollywood noted that the film's top-grossing cities during its opening weekend were Dallas, Houston, Phoenix, Atlanta, Oklahoma City, and San Antonio, and that theater chains inMiddle America likeB&B Theatres andSantikos Theatres surged over annual norms.^[46] The publication also said the film's "not political" standing (by not referring to climate change) appealed to "red states"; despite it, PostTrak reported that of opening weekend moviegoers, 16% were registered Democrats while 7% were registered Republicans. The highest-grossing theater that weekend wasRegal Warren inMoore, Oklahoma, at over $130,000.^[34]

Twisters grossed $267.8 million in the United States and Canada, and $104.5 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $372.3 million.^[2][3]

In the United States and Canada,Twisters was projected to gross $40–55 million from 4,151 theaters in its opening weekend.^[33][47] After it made $32.1 million on its first day,^[48] including an estimated $10.7 million from Wednesday and Thursday previews, projections were raised to $75 million. It went on to debut to $81.3 million,^[49] the best-ever opening weekend for a natural disaster film, surpassingThe Day After Tomorrow (2004).^[34][50] At the time, the film had the third-highest opening weekend of 2024, behindInside Out 2 ($154.2 million) andDune: Part Two ($82.5 million).^[51] Of that opening, $2.1 million came from4DX screenings, a record for the format, surpassingThe Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023); this record was surpassed the following week byDeadpool & Wolverine.^[52][53][54]

Because of its success in the format,Twisters returned to 4DX theaters alongside the original film from August 30 to September 5.^[54] The film earned $35 million and $22.8 million in its second and third weekends, respectively, both times behindDeadpool & Wolverine.^[55][56] During its seventh weekend, as the film was released on PVOD, the film ranked number three at the box office behind the latter film andAlien: Romulus, experiencing a 27% box office increase from the previous week.^[57][58] The film's domestic performance was credited to Universal's marketing, which sold the movie on Powell's star power and the option to see the film on 4DX; of its total earnings, only 27.8% came from international markets (for reference, the originalTwister earned half of its box office internationally).^[59]

On thereview aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes, 75% of 392 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.7/10. The website's consensus reads: "Summoning a storm of spectacle and carried along by the gale force winds of Glen Powell's charisma,Twisters' forecast is splendid with a high chance of thrills."^[60] According to the website, critics felt that Chung added "more substance" to the film and praised the film's visuals and "unexpectedly well-handled romantic twist", calling it a "rousing piece of summer blockbuster cinema".^[61]Metacritic, which uses aweighted average, assigned the film a score of 65 out of 100, based on 57 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.^[62] Audiences surveyed byCinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A-" on an A+ to F scale, the same score as the first film, whilePostTrak reported filmgoers gave it 4.5 out of five stars.^[34]

Robbie Collin ofThe Daily Telegraph gave it a score of five out of five, writing that it "vastly improves on [the original] in all regards".^[63] Writing forEntertainment Weekly,Jordan Hoffman gave the film a "A-" grade, saying "There's a ton of technobabble that you have to take on faith, but Jones and Powell do more than sell it; they make it compelling".^[64] Odie Henderson ofThe Boston Globe earned a two-and-a-half out of four rating, stating that "watching the sequel is like playingMad Libs with the original's plot".^[65]IndieWire's David Ehrlich gave the film a "B+" grade and said "And for all of the unearned goodwill thatTwisters extends to viral content creators, it still makes one of this summer's most emphatic arguments in favor of the big screen experience".^[66] Donald Clarke ofThe Irish Times gave it a rating of three out of five, explaining that "a sequel, while no masterpiece, feels perfectly serviceable in the era of lore-addicted trash such asGhostbusters: Frozen Empire".^[67]

Owen Gleiberman ofVariety gave the film a mixed review. He praised the performances of Powell and Edgar-Jones, but suggested the film was not as innovative as the original film given the prevalence of the Internet and actual videos of tornadoes freely available. He wrote, "Staring up at the tornadoes inTwisters, I felt like I'd already seen something exactly like them — and that when it comes to footage of actual tornadoes, I'd already seen something more incredible".^[68]

The producers ofTwisters consulted with theNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration during development, with the federal agency contributing logos and props.^[69] The agency added that its contribution to scientific accuracy was only reflected "in some parts" of the film. A scientific review inThe New York Times pointed out impossibilities with the film's mechanism for dissipating tornadoes, observing that the method suggested would require many tons of the chemicals used and require a much longer period.^[70] A professor atTexas A&M University also remarked: "it's highly unlikely that the small-scale methods depicted in the movie would have any real impact on tornadoes. To my knowledge, no one is actively pursuing such an approach".^[71] An article inWired noted that the "twin" tornadoes featured in the film do occur in real-life asmultiple-vortex tornadoes, drawing comparison to theDunlap, Indiana tornado during the1965 Palm Sunday tornado outbreak.^[72]

WriterMargaret Renkl criticized the film for not mentioning the link betweenclimate change and the increasing frequency and intensity of tornadoes.^[73] Despite Smith's intent for the screenplay to incorporate the effects of climate change, Chung explained his decision to avoid explicitly referring to climate change as wanting "to make sure that we are never creating a feeling that we're preaching a message."^[74][75] According to Chung, Universal wanted him to put forward a clear message about climate change, but scientific advisors on the project suggested that he be more measured, because the link between tornado severity and climate change remains unclear.^[76][77]

• Official website
• Twisters atIMDb