This week I will be discussing the relationship between the Harry Potter series and the Twilight series. Although there are some
fans out there that have a strong liking for both Harry Potter and Twilight,
many fans dislike Twilight as much as
they like Harry Potter. Ever since
the release of the first novel in the Twilight
series in 2005, there has been a constant comparison between the two
stories. Twilight, written by
Stephanie Meyer, is a young adult romance novel about vampires and werewolves, whereas
Harry Potter is a children’s fantasy
novel about a young boy wizard and his best friends. Stephanie Meyer has
written four novels for her series, with five movies produced; while J.K.
Rowling has written seven novels, with eight movies produced.
Often
compared in the two series are the two main girls, Bella Swan from Twilight and
Hermione Granger from Harry Potter. As I mentioned in a previous blog, Hermione
is a muggle born witch who befriends the famous Harry Potter in her first year
at Hogwarts. Hermione is known for her thirst for knowledge and for always
sticking up for her best friends and what is right. Bella Swan is an average
girl who meets an unusual family, the Cullens (who happen to be vampires). Many fans argue that Hermione is the better
character because she fights for what she believes in while Bella lets Edward
Cullen, Bella’s love interest, fight for her.
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows pt. 2: $381,011,219
- Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone: $317,575,550
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince: $301,959,197
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows pt. 1: $295,983,305
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix: $292,004,738
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire: $290,013,036
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets: $261,988,482
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Askaban: $249,541,069
- The Twilight Saga: Eclipse : $300,531,751
- The Twilight Saga: New Moon : $296,623,634
- The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn pt. 2: $292,324,737
- The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn pt. 1: $281,287,133
- Twilight: $192,769,854
As you can see from this list, the majority of the Harry Potter films did better than the respective Twilight Films. Joel Ryan, E! Online reporter wrote on the differences between the releases of the last film for each series saying, “All of this leads to the possibility that perhaps the last Twilight couldn't go out like the last Harry Potter, all mind-blowingly record-sized, because only Harry Potter is Harry Potter.” Many fans would agree with this
Furthermore, the two novels are often compared because of
their messages. J.K. Rowling’s novels are about the importance of friendship,
the power of love, and the idea that good will always triumph over evil. She
shows this through the strong friendship built between Harry, Ron and Hermione
that started in the first novel and continues to grow strong throughout. The
power of love is shown through the fact that Harry survives Lord Voldemort’s
killing curse through the love his mom had for him. Lastly, the belief that
good will always defeat evil is shown in the final installment of the series,
when Harry finally and completely defeats Lord Voldemort, the most evil wizard
of all time. Stephanie Meyer’s novels are about life and love, as well as
freedom and choice. Portrayed through the love of Bella and Edward, Stephanie
Meyer’s demonstrates her ideas on love. Freedom
and choice are portrayed through the choice the Cullen family makes to not kill
Bella, because she is human. Overall, both novels deal with messages of love
and the power of love, but some people feel the message behind J.K. Rowling’s
novels are more powerful.
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