FRANCHISES

a woman from an indie background directs a female-fronted talking-point to huge success. last year, that film was

Wonder Woman. But Twilight got there first. Thirteen’s Catherine Hardwicke directed the saga-starter from Melissa rosenberg’s script. Told from a young woman’s viewpoint,

Twilight stoked endless column inches about its impact on young women and banked a $69.6m opening weekend from a relatively modest $37m budget, with 75 per cent of that audience being female. Swiftly, it became one of the first post-Potter young-adult franchises to roar past a first instalment towards franchise glory.

Some critics were vitriolic, but rosenberg’s argument that

Twilight offered “no more or less reasonable a fantasy than the big-budget tentpole movies that appeal to 13-year-old boys” hit a nerve. More female-fronted franchises followed, ranging like most franchises from poor (Divergent, Snow

White) to potent: as critic anne Billson asked, “Would even the first Hunger Games have been made without Twilight?”

Meanwhile, Twilight’s franchise growth gave the lie to the notion that boys don’t watch ‘girls’ movies’. For Chris Weitz, director of Twi-2 New Moon, “relatable” was the word. “Bella’s situation is one of the things i responded to, honestly. it sounds sad but i have been where Bella has, having been dumped.” Only a few billion fans would concur.