Summary
Early reviews suggest thatTwisterswill best the original 1996 film’s lukewarm critical score, but the standalone sequel will have a much more difficult time beating anotherTwisterrecord regarding the movie’s impressive box office draw. Co-written by Michael Crichton, the novelist behindJurassic Park,1996’sTwisterremains one of the most iconic disaster movies of all time. The Oscar-nominated film’s then-boundary-pushing blend of CGI and practical effects made the looming threat of tornadoes incredibly visceral to movie-goers. WhileTwister’s competing senses of dread and excitement hold up, Universal Pictures green-lit a standalone sequel.
Directed by Lee Isaac Chung,Twisters' cast of characterstrades the original movie’s spirited-yet-amateur storm chasers and researchers for a jaded meteorologist, Kate Cooper (Daisy Edgar-Jones), and a social media-famous storm chaser, Tyler Owens (Glen Powell). Haunted by her past, Kate is lured back into the field by her friend, Javi (Anthony Ramos), to test a groundbreaking tracking system with the potential to save lives. Throughout the storm season, Kate and the ever-reckless Tyler continually cross paths untilthe two storm chasers get caught in a terrifying multi-storm system that’s converging over central Oklahoma.
Only Independence Day Outdid Twister At The Worldwide Box Office
Twister
In Twister, Bill and Jo Harding, advanced storm chasers on the brink of divorce, must join together to create an advanced weather alert system by putting themselves in the cross-hairs of extremely violent tornadoes. Jo’s childhood was stricken by the trauma of losing her father to a deadly F5 tornado, setting her on the path of a storm chaser. Having developed a new technology with her team named “Dorothy,” Jo seeks to make Tornadoes more predictable to give people a chance to make it to safety. Jo’s obsession created a rift between her husband, but new breakthroughs may bring them back together as the two pursue their greatest challenge yet - an incoming system that will produce yet another F5.
Thetrue story-inspiredTwisterbecame the second highest-grossing movie of 1996, garnering an impressive $495.7 million against its roughly $90 million budget. When it opened on May 10,Twisterdethroned Robin Williams and Nathan Lane’s comedyThe Birdcageto have the then-biggest opening weekend of the year. In two weeks, the movie crossed the $100-million mark,leadingTwisterto eventually gross a total of $241.7 million at the North American box officealone. Ultimately, Twister beat out hits likeMission: ImpossibleandSpace Jamto become the second highest-grossing film of the year.
Twister didn’t beat out Will Smith’s record-setting Independence Day [but…] it did cement its status as an enduring summer blockbuster.
WhileTwisterdidn’t beat out Will Smith’s record-settingIndependence Day— the action-thriller grossed a staggering $817.4 million worldwide — itdidcement its status as an enduring summer blockbuster.The plot ofTwistersdefinitely takes some cues from the 1996 film, which stars Helen Hunt as Jo Harding, a tornado-obsessed meteorologist-turned-storm-chaser who, like Kate Cooper, is haunted by a destructive storm from her past. A shared-universestandalone sequel,Twisters' connection toTwisteris more in the narrative’s formula than anything else — and that will likely spell box office success.
Twisters Review: This Unnecessary Twister Sequel Actually Impressed Me
Led by the perfect chemistry between Daisy Edgar-Jones and Glen Powell, Twisters provides ample thrills, solid characters, and great technical work.
Twisters Could Still Surpass The Original Twister’s Box Office
Twisters Needs To Make At Least $400 Million At The Box Office To Be Considered A Success
Givenhow muchTwisters' box office needs to make, the standalone sequel will likely out-gross the 1996 film. Much of the movie’s success hinges on its massive budget, which ballooned to $200 million — likely given the special effects and production design needed to render a convincing disaster film in 2024. That said,Twistersneeds to most likely gross at least $400 million at the box office to make back its budget and marketing costs. In order to be truly profitable and successful,the disaster movie should make at least $500–$600 millionto become 2024’s latest summer blockbuster.
It’s Ridiculous Glen Powell’s Great RT Streak Ended With This $220M Surprise Before Two 2024 Hits
Glen Powell has two critically acclaimed movies in 2024, making his broken Rotten Tomatoes streak via one release in 2023 even more disappointing.
Twisters Probably Won’t Beat Inside Out 2 Or Dune 2
It’s Unlikely That Twisters Will Make More Than $711.8 Million
Projections suggest thatTwisterswill make $45–50 million in its opening weekend in the US and Canada — just shy ofDune: Part Two’s $82.5 million opening draw andwellbehindInside Out 2’s staggering $295 million opening weekend. Currently,Inside Out 2is the highest-grossing movie of the year with a $1.36 billion draw. That said,Twistersmight be able to build enough momentum in its first few weeks to eventually dethroneDune 2, which made $712 million. If it does,Twisterswill become 2024’s second highest-grossing movie and repeatTwister’s 1996 feat.
Twistersopens in theaters nationwide on June 29, 2025.
Twisters
A follow-up to the 1996 original film Twister, Twisters is a sequel set years after the original, said to be fast-tracked by Steven Spielberg and Mark L. Smith, with Frank Marshal as producer. Little details exist about the film, but Helen Hunt is expected to reprise her role as Jo, with the film likely to pay homage to the late Bill Paxton.
