Can a movie be both a pioneer and a laughing stock at the same time? Yes, because that’s exactly what applies to a cult disaster movie of the 90s that streams on Amazon Prime Video.
Last summer, the disaster movie Twisters took over cinemas and grossed over $372 million worldwide. An impressive sum, but one that was actually surpassed by the blockbuster’s predecessor 28 years earlier.
Twister, directed by Jan De Bont (Speed), grossed almost $500 million worldwide, making it the second most successful film of 1996 (behind Independence Day).
However, this immense success was by no means foreseeable. Why? The disaster action movie, in which Bill Paxton and Helen Hunt chase tornadoes, was released in US cinemas in May, which at the time was considered a rather unfavorable period for a blockbuster release. Furthermore, Twister was an original movie that stood alone and had no established franchise behind it. A flop was predicted, but it turned out differently.
Clever Twister marketing revolutionized cinema forever
One image that Twister is still associated with today is undoubtedly that of a flying cow caught in a tornado. The financing studios Warner and Universal relied on effective scenes like this in the released trailers to market their film and thus struck a chord with the audience. Here, it wasn’t the actors, but the tornadoes shown that were the stars.
In addition, Twister benefited enormously from the real reporting that took place around the time of its theatrical release. It was no coincidence that the film’s release was scheduled for the late spring, when tornado season usually begins, especially in the Midwest of the United States. The TV news was full of real footage of destructive storms, which only fueled the audience’s curiosity about the movie.
This attention was worth its weight in gold in economic terms, as it provided free advertising for the film, so to speak. At the time, the L.A. Times even spoke of a “marketing phenomenon”. Hype quickly built around Twister, and people naturally wanted to experience it on the big screen.
The rest is movie history: the combination of spectacularly realistic effects (which were later nominated for an Oscar), overwhelmingly positive reviews and clever marketing paid off. In 1996, the disaster film delivered the most successful May opening weekend ever and had a lasting influence on the marketing and release strategies of future blockbusters.
From then on, their marketing was no longer limited to trailers and commercials, if possible. And May was no longer off limits as a start date either; after the Twister success, it was suddenly declared the new start of the summer blockbuster season.
Science debunked many of the factual errors in Twister
In the triumph of Twister 28 years ago, it may have been a little lost that the makers of the film took a few creative liberties when it came to the correct representation of tornadoes and how to deal with them. After all, especially in blockbuster cinema, content nonsense can of course be endlessly entertaining (yes, we’re looking at you, Armageddon!).
As Business Insider has summarized, scientific experts have found quite a few factual errors in Twister. Among others, the following:
- In reality, the force of a tornado is measured using a damage scale after it has passed. In the movie, the tornado’s strength is predicted before it occurs, which is virtually impossible.
- Contrary to what is stated in Twister, a greenish sky is not a guaranteed sign that a tornado will develop.
- The various ways the characters in Twister seek shelter from the storms would likely lead to their death in real life. Bridges and cars are absolutely not safe places to hide and survive a tornado.
But to take up the most famous image from Twister again and clarify the most important of all questions: As storm expert Greg Carbin revealed to Alabama.com, a cow flying around during a really strong tornado is “not that unusual.”
Where can you stream Twister and the sequel Twisters?
To watch Twister, Amazon Prime Video’s streaming flat rate currently offers the best opportunity. The sequel Twisters, on the other hand, is available for free to all WOW subscribers.
