THE TWILIGHT SAGA: BREAKING DAWN - PART 1 BREAKS $700 MILLION MARK AT WORLDWIDE BOX OFFICE

SANTA MONICA, Calif., and VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Jan. 23, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Summit Entertainment, a LIONSGATE® company, announced today that the fourth installment in the blockbuster TWILIGHT SAGA franchise – THE TWILIGHT SAGA: BREAKING DAWN – PART 1 has grossed an estimated $701.3 million in global box office receipts since the film's release on November 18, 2011.  THE TWILIGHT SAGA: BREAKING DAWN – PART 1 is on its way to becoming the highest grossing film in the series to date looking to surpass the worldwide box office gross of THE TWILIGHT SAGA: NEW MOON which tallied $709.8 million.  The two other two films in the franchise THE TWILIGHT SAGA: ECLIPSE and TWILIGHT have each grossed $698.5 million and $390.4 respectively and the franchise continues to break records.  Upcoming releases of THE TWILIGHT SAGA: BREAKING DAWN – PART 1 internationally include Japan and China.

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Not only has the TWILIGHT SAGA's global fan base supported the films during their theatrical release, but audiences worldwide have continued to support this cultural phenomenon both on and off the screen.  THE TWILIGHT SAGA: BREAKING DAWN – PART 1 will be available on Blu-ray, DVD, and VOD on February 11, 2012.

Lionsgate's Motion Picture Group Co-Chairmen Rob Friedman and Patrick Wachsberger stated: "The milestone is important on several fronts and illustrates the vitality of the franchise on a global scale even after four films.  Stephenie Meyer's story and characters were brought to the screen this time via the talented hands of Bill Condon along with the cast and crew that has been with the film franchise since its inception.  We are very proud of the success the franchise has experienced and anticipate the saga's conclusion this November."

The next chapter in THE TWILIGHT SAGA, THE TWILIGHT SAGA: BREAKING DAWN – PART 2 will arrive in theatres on November 16, 2012. Academy Award® winner Bill Condon directed both the first and second part of the two-part finale starring Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner. The project, based on the fourth novel in author Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series, was written by Melissa Rosenberg with Wyck Godfrey, Karen Rosenfelt and Stephenie Meyer producing.

About THE TWILIGHT SAGA film series

THE TWILIGHT SAGA film series stars Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson and tells the story of 17-year-old Bella Swan who moves to the small town of Forks, Washington to live with her father, and becomes drawn to Edward Cullen, a pale, mysterious classmate who seems determined to push her away. But neither can deny the attraction that pulls them together...even when Edward confides that he and his family are vampires.  The action-packed, modern day vampire love story TWILIGHT, the first film in the series, was released in theatres on November 21, 2008 to a blockbuster reception. The second installment of the film franchise, THE TWILIGHT SAGA: NEW MOON was released November 20, 2009 and the third installment, THE TWILIGHT SAGA: ECLIPSE was released June 30, 2010.

About Summit Entertainment

Summit Entertainment, a LIONSGATE® company, is a worldwide theatrical motion picture development, financing, production and distribution studio.  The company handles all aspects of marketing and distribution for both its own internally developed motion pictures as well as acquired pictures.  Summit also represents international sales for both its own slate and third party product.

About Lionsgate

Lionsgate is a leading global entertainment company with a strong and diversified presence in motion picture production and distribution, television programming and syndication, home entertainment, family entertainment, digital distribution, new channel platforms and international distribution and sales. The Company has built a strong television presence in production of prime time cable and broadcast network series, distribution and syndication of programming and an array of channel assets.  Lionsgate currently has 15 shows on more than 10 networks spanning its prime time production, distribution and syndication businesses, including such critically-acclaimed hits as the multiple Emmy Award-winning "Mad Men", "Weeds" and "Nurse Jackie" along with the comedy "Blue Mountain State," the Golden Globe-winning drama "Boss" and the syndication successes "Tyler Perry's House Of Payne", its spinoff "Meet The Browns", "The Wendy Williams Show" and "Are We There Yet?".

Its feature film business has been fueled by such recent successes as THE LINCOLN LAWYER, TYLER PERRY'S MADEA'S BIG HAPPY FAMILY, THE EXPENDABLES, MARGIN CALL, THE LAST EXORCISM and the critically-acclaimed PRECIOUS, which won two Academy Awards®. With the January 2012 acquisition of Summit Entertainment, the Company now has the two leading young adult franchises – the blockbuster TWILIGHT SAGA, which has grossed more than $2.5 billion at the worldwide box office, and the HUNGER GAMES franchise, whose first film will be released on March 23.  Recent Summit hits include RED, LETTERS TO JULIET, KNOWING, the STEP UP franchise and the Academy Award winning Best Picture THE HURT LOCKER.

Lionsgate's home entertainment business is an industry leader in box office-to-DVD and box office-to-VOD revenue conversion rate. Lionsgate handles a prestigious and prolific library of approximately 13,000 motion picture and television titles that is an important source of recurring revenue and serves as the foundation for the growth of the Company's core businesses. The Lionsgate and Summit brands remain synonymous with original, daring, quality entertainment in markets around the world.

SOURCE Lionsgate