Twilight: Books vs. Movies

The five Twilight movies, released between 2008 and 2012, are adapted from Stephenie Meyer's four books, published between 2005 and 2008. Each book has its own page here; this one is the series as a whole.

PollBooks or movies, which were better?
Do you recommend the books?
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From Books Adapted

How much of the book it covers

Four main books became five movies

The movies follow Bella's four-book story in order. Breaking Dawn is divided between the final two movies.

MovieBook and coverage
TwilightTwilight (book 1), covering its main story.
The Twilight Saga: New MoonNew Moon (book 2), covering its main story.
The Twilight Saga: EclipseEclipse (book 3), with background from The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner.
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1The first part of Breaking Dawn (book 4).
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2The rest of Breaking Dawn, through its conclusion.

The five movies complete the four main novels. Bree Tanner supplied background for Eclipse, rather than receiving a separate movie. These movies do not adapt Life and Death or Midnight Sun, which retell Twilight.

Netflix has announced a separate animated adaptation of Midnight Sun, which retells Twilight from Edward's perspective. As of October 18, 2026, its announcement gives no release date.

What changed from the book

Contains spoilersTap to show

The final battle is a vision

Breaking Dawn – Part 2 shows a battle with the Volturi, then reveals it as a future Alice has shown Aro. The deaths in that sequence have not happened. The book ends the confrontation without that battle being fought.

Meyer and Rosenberg developed the idea together. Meyer linked it to a moment in the book when Aro weighs the likely cost of fighting. The movie turns his private calculation into something Alice can show him, including the prospect of his own death.

How it was adapted

Eclipse shows the newborns outside Bella's view

The Eclipse novel stays with Bella. The movie also follows the newborn vampires in Seattle, where she cannot see what is happening.

Screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg asked Meyer about those events while developing the movie. Meyer shared her unfinished Bree Tanner story, then sent the completed version to director David Slade and the actors playing the newborns. Meyer said the novella helped those scenes agree with the background she had imagined; it was not what first prompted the movie to include them.

Every movie has its own page

Vote on them one at a time: each has its own question, results and comments.

  1. Book 1TwilightMovie, 2008 · Directed by Catherine Hardwicke · 2 hr 2 minFrom Twilight · 2005 · 416 pagesCatherine Hardwicke’s 2008 film Twilight adapts Stephenie Meyer’s 2005 novel. Bella Swan’s move to Forks brings her into the orbit of Edward Cullen, whose secret makes their attraction dangerous.Which was better? Vote
  2. Book 2The Twilight Saga: New MoonMovie, 2009 · Directed by Chris Weitz · 2 hr 11 minFrom New Moon · 2006 · 563 pagesChris Weitz’s 2009 film The Twilight Saga: New Moon adapts Stephenie Meyer’s 2006 novel New Moon. Edward’s departure leaves Bella relying on Jacob, whose own life is changing in ways she does not understand.Which was better? Vote
  3. Book 3The Twilight Saga: EclipseMovie, 2010 · Directed by David Slade · 2 hr 4 minFrom Eclipse · 2007 · 629 pagesDavid Slade’s 2010 film The Twilight Saga: Eclipse adapts Stephenie Meyer’s 2007 novel. Bella’s plans for her future become entangled with a threat that brings the Cullens and Jacob’s pack into an uneasy alliance.Which was better? Vote
  4. Book 4The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1Movie, 2011 · Directed by Bill Condon · 1 hr 57 minFrom Breaking Dawn · 2008 · 656 pagesBill Condon’s 2011 film The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 adapts the opening portion of Stephenie Meyer’s 2008 novel. Bella and Edward marry, but an unexpected pregnancy quickly threatens their plans.Which was better? Vote
  5. Book 4The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2Movie, 2012 · Directed by Bill Condon · 1 hr 55 minFrom Breaking Dawn · 2008 · 656 pagesBill Condon’s 2012 film The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 completes the adaptation of Stephenie Meyer’s 2008 novel. Bella’s new life with Edward and their daughter is threatened by the Volturi.Which was better? Vote

The books, in order

  1. Details
    Twilight cover
    Author
    Stephenie Meyer
    Year
    2005
    Pages
    416
    Audiobook length
    12 hr 51 min
    Narrator
    Ilyana Kadushin
    Series
    Twilight, book 1

    Bella Swan moves to Forks to live with her father and finds herself preoccupied with Edward Cullen, a classmate whose behavior swings between hostility and concern. As she pieces together the secret behind his impossible abilities, her attraction draws her into a relationship in which intimacy and physical danger are inseparable.

  2. Details
    New Moon cover
    Author
    Stephenie Meyer
    Year
    2006
    Pages
    563
    Audiobook length
    14 hr 51 min
    Narrator
    Ilyana Kadushin
    Series
    Twilight, book 2

    After Edward Cullen leaves Forks, Bella withdraws from the life around her until her friendship with Jacob Black begins to offer some comfort. She also discovers that danger seems to bring Edward’s voice back to her, and her pursuit of that sensation becomes more reckless as Jacob starts keeping unsettling secrets of his own.

  3. Details
    Eclipse cover
    Author
    Stephenie Meyer
    Year
    2007
    Pages
    629
    Audiobook length
    16 hr 26 min
    Narrator
    Ilyana Kadushin, Matt Walters
    Series
    Twilight, book 3

    Bella is approaching graduation and the decision that could end her human life, but her attachment to Jacob complicates the future she has planned with Edward. Meanwhile, killings in nearby Seattle and Victoria’s continuing pursuit draw the Cullens and the werewolves toward a confrontation neither group can afford to face alone.

  4. 4Breaking Dawn2008KindlePaperbackAudiobook
    Details
    Breaking Dawn cover
    Author
    Stephenie Meyer
    Year
    2008
    Pages
    656
    Audiobook length
    20 hr 28 min
    Narrator
    Ilyana Kadushin, Matt Walters
    Series
    Twilight, book 4

    Bella prepares to marry Edward and leave her human life behind, believing the hardest choice has already been made. An unexpected pregnancy creates a crisis that divides the Cullens and Jacob’s pack, drawing her into new responsibilities and dangers that extend far beyond the future she imagined for herself.

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