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In this week's 'Twilight' Tuesday, MTV News looks at signs that the two franchises may have a lot of fans in common.
By Kara Warner
Photo: Lions Gate
Let's forget the "Twilight" versus "The Hunger Games" debate. Sure, there are a multitude of comparison stories out there right now, and there are definitely similarities between the two buzzed-about films, but the "versus" angle isn't the one we should be focusing on.
This week's " 'Twilight' Tuesday" is about making harmony and spreading goodwill, because at the end of the day, when people are talking about and spending money on YA adaptations, everyone wins. Not only that, but I'm willing to go out on a limb and say a lot "Twilight" fans are also "Hunger Games" fans, and vice versa.
There has been much ado this week about the fact that the film adaptation of Suzanne Collins' bestseller is tracking so well that it has a chance to beat the opening-weekend box-office haul of "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1." In a nutshell, the term tracking is Hollywood industry speak for how well a studio's marketing campaigns is succeeding in creating awareness for an upcoming release. My esteemed colleague Amy Wilkinson provided a detailed analysis of "Hunger Games" tracking a while back that addressed the fact that tracking is not at all a perfect predictor of box-office success because it only measures awareness, not ticket purchases or plans to buy tickets.
"Numbers don't get much higher than this," a studio executive told The Hollywood Reporter about the unexpected level of awareness for "Games." "'[It's] tracking like a sequel, even though it isn't a sequel. It's three times higher than the first 'Twilight.' "
One reason it may be "tracking like a sequel" is that as "Twilight" fans await the final film, due out in November, they may be looking to "Hunger Games" to satiate their YA hunger in the meantime. Current tracking doesn't provide us a way to prove this theory, but regardless, it's a good jumping-off point for analysis.
And remember, if "Hunger Games" manages to top "Breaking Dawn - Part 1" in box-office sales over its first weekend, which is a sizable feat indeed, we all win.
Do you agree that "Twilight" and "The Hunger Games" share a similar fanbase? Sound off in the comments section below!
Check out everything we've got on "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2" and "The Hunger Games."
For young Hollywood news, fashion and "Twilight" updates around the clock, visit HollywoodCrush.MTV.com.
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