Hollywood hungry for young adult films
After successful Twilight series, studios pore over novels for next blockbuster franchise
LOS ANGELES — As vampires Bella and Edward take their last bites on the big screen, Hollywood studios are on the hunt for the next Twilight, a movie that plays on teenage angst and, more importantly, lights up the movie box office.
The first four Twilight movies earned $ 2.5 billion at theatres worldwide, propelled by passionate fans of a book series about a vampire- and- werewolf teen love triangle. Box office watchers project Breaking Dawn Part 2 will haul in $ 150 million at U. S. and Canadian theatres this weekend, one of the year’s biggest film debuts.
Eager to replicate that performance, studio executives have been trolling through young adult novels with the dream of uncovering the next big blockbuster franchise, paying as much as $ 1 million to secure the film rights to the hottest books.
At least four films based on books for teenagers will reach theatres next year, with young love forced to overcome alien parasites, evil zombies and other supernatural bad guys.
Executives hope they can uncover a story that excites tech- savvy teens, who supercharged the buzz mill for The Hunger Games and other hits by spreading the word to friends through social media posts.
“It’s a very enthusiastic and deep passion that young people feel for a book they love,” said Nina Jacobson, executive producer of The Hunger Games, which spawned a blockbuster film franchise with $ 687 million in worldwide ticket sales this spring.
The four- year Twilight movie saga lifted tiny studio Summit Entertainment into Hollywood’s big leagues and paved the way for its $ 412- million acquisition in January by Lions Gate Entertainment, the studio behind The Hunger Games.
The coming young adult films incorporate paranormal themes like those in the Twilight movies or dark dystopian futures and battles for survival reminiscent of The Hunger Games, and do it through young love.
Still, there is no guarantee book lovers will flock to a movie version of their favourite read, said Keith Simanton, managing editor of movie website IMDB. com. Film adaptations of The Seeker and The Spiderwick Chronicles failed to give birth to the kind of big movie franchises that have become the lifeblood of Hollywood’s movie studios, he said.