How to watch the ‘Twilight’ movies in order, from Bella and Edward’s introduction to Breaking Dawn’s epic battle



The Twilight Saga is a tale as old as time. Give young adult audiences a book about romantic teenage angst and there’s a good chance it’ll fly off shelves. Throw a sparkly vampire and brooding werewolf into the mix, and you’ve got a movie deal. Cast Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson as the leads, and you have adolescents breaking box office records while trying to convince their friends to adopt the nickname “Spider Monkey.” 

Stephanie Meyer is the brain behind the vampire saga, having written the four books following Bella’s move to Fork, Wash., and her subsequent supernatural love triangle. Summit Entertainment (now Lionsgate) adapted her four novels into five blockbuster movies, splitting Breaking Dawn into two epic installments.

Twi-Hards have been rewatching the films for over a decade, and now you can, too! Here’s how to watch all five Twilight movies in order.

Twilight (2008)

Bella and Edward in Twilight.

Peter Sorel/Summit


Seventeen-year-old Bella (Kristen Stewart) has moved to dreary Forks, Wash. Her new hometown features constant rain and a brooding yet gorgeous lab partner named Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson), who has unusually red eyes and excessively gelled hair. After a few near-death experiences where Edward saves Bella’s life, she soon discovers that he’s a vampire. 

Edward does his best to repel Bella, but she falls “unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him” — much to the consternation of her childhood friend Jacob (Taylor Lautner) and her father, Charlie (Billy Burke). What’s more, she’s now embedded in a family of vampires who keep emphasizing how good her blood smells. Oh, and a trio of baddie bloodsuckers from another coven are also interested in taking a bite. 

Catherine Hardwicke’s emotionally raw tone, moody blue filter, and contemplative soundtrack coaxed lovers of the book series to invest in the film, grossing over $407 million worldwide despite mixed reviews from critics. 

Where to watch Twilight: Peacock

The Twilight Saga: New Moon (2009)

Bella and Jacob in Twilight: New Moon.

Kimberley French/Summit


Hardwicke left the director’s chair due to time and budget constraints, so Chris Weitz delivered Twilight Saga: New Moon to adoring fans. But living up to the first movie’s legacy was quite the task, given the central couple spends barely any time together on-screen.

When Edward’s adopted brother Jasper (Jackson Rathbone) almost bites off Bella’s arm, Edward decides it’s too dangerous for them to continue their relationship. Bella’s proposed solution is to become a vampire herself, but Edward chooses another route and leaves town. Bella spends most of the film extraordinarily depressed, but she finds solace in her friendship with Jacob, a werewolf complete with short hair, an official Quileute tattoo, and abs for days. (Cue the screams from those on Team Jacob.) 

She soon realizes that if she puts herself in dangerous situations, Edward will appear to her as an apparition. But things take a turn for the worse when Edward’s clairvoyant sister Alice (Ashley Greene) mistakenly assumes Bella plummeted to her death while cliffdiving. Edward thus begs the vampire council, the Volturi, to kill him since he refuses to live without Bella, and she and Alice must race against time to save him. 

New Moon is decidedly the least-beloved Twilight movie due to its slower plot, excessive doom and gloom, and Edward’s absence. But those on Team Jacob rejoiced in his newfound romantic tension with Bella. (Hey, when the vampire’s away, the wolves come out to play.)

Where to watch The Twilight Saga: New Moon: Peacock

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (2010)

Bella, Edward, and Jacob in Twilight: Eclipse.

Kimberley French/Summit


Keeping with tradition, Eclipse found a new director in David Slade. It also recast Bryce Dallas Howard as Victoria, a red-headed vamp previously played by Rachelle Lefevre (who was “stunned” by the switch). 

With the phenomenal success of the first two films, the third installment reaped financial rewards. Summit Entertainment produced better wigs for the actors, more realistic wolves in post-production, and cast a mesmerizing Xavier Samuel as the newly turned vampire, Riley. 

Victoria entrusts Riley to lead a newborn vampire army, and once again, Edward is scared for Bella’s safety. Thus, the Cullens and the werewolves decide to put aside their differences and form an alliance to protect her. Their plan: use Bella’s blood to lure Riley away from the town so Edward can take him down.

Bella revisits the love triangle when she kisses Jacob before he runs off to battle. It’s quite confusing since she already accepted Edward’s marriage proposal…

Eclipse secured the record in 2010 for the biggest single-day Wednesday opening gross with $68.5 million.

Where to watch The Twilight Saga: Eclipse: Peacock

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1 (2011)

Bella and Edward’s wedding in Breaking Dawn Part 1.
Andrew Cooper/Summit

The fourth director of the saga, Bill Condon, must have felt tremendous pressure in filming Edward and Bella’s wedding in The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn. Every Twi-Hard in the universe expected the dress, the scenery, and the song to be perfect (not to mention the honeymoon).

Bella, while still a human, learns she’s pregnant after… er… consummating her marriage. Since delivering the “abomination” will likely kill his bride, Edward returns Bella to the Cullens where his father figure, Dr. Carlisle Cullen (Peter Facinelli), oversees Bella’s pregnancy. 

When the wolf pack finds out about the baby, they believe Bella should be taken out. Jacob refuses, severs his bond with the pack, and helps the Cullens protect a rapidly declining Bella. It all leads to a stunning climax, in which Edward cuts the baby out of her womb with his teeth and injects Bella with his venom to save her.  

Watching Jacob imprint on a horrifying CGI baby is one of the series’ worst moments, but Bella’s transition into a vampire is one of the best — and an effective cliffhanger for the saga’s epic conclusion. 

Where to watch The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1: Peacock

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 (2012)

Bella, Edward, Jacob, and Renesmee in Breaking Dawn Part 2.

Andrew Cooper/Summit


By this time in the series, every actor in Hollywood was vying for a seat in the Twilight dynasty, and many secured a spot. Lee Pace and Rami Malek joined franchise vets Michael Sheen, Dakota Fanning, and Jamie Campbell Bower as vampires aligned with either the Cullens or the Volturi, who have learned that Renesmee is an immortal child.

The bulk of the film features Bella, finally in vampire form, mastering her gift of shielding. She must also mentally prepare for Jacob to whisk a rapidly-growing Renesmee away if things go south, which they do. The epic snowy battle scene’s twist ending probably had Twi-Hards threatening to run Bill Condon out of business, but everything worked out in the end. (Let the record show that it was touch and go for about 20 minutes.) 

No surprise, Breaking Dawn Part 2 was a huge success at the box office. It was the highest-grossing film of the saga and the sixth-highest-grossing film of 2012, and the last hurrah in Forks for legions of fans everywhere (until the upcoming animated series drops, of course). 

Where to watch The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2: Peacock



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