fandomania | Aug. 25th, 2010

Vampires bring $7 bil to Hollywood economy
Films, books, TV pull in near the GDP of a small nation

By Jay A. Fernandez and Borys Kit

Hollywood has repeatedly peddled the apocalyptic threat from aliens, machines, comets, viruses and zombies, but who was watching the vampires?

Never exactly absent from the entertainment scene, those eternal bloodsuckers lately have infiltrated everything from big screens and little screens to bookstore shelves, clothing racks, download services, video games and video, record and jewelry stores.

Just this week, the Fox/New Regency "Twilight" parody "Vampires Suck" grossed $20 million, and 5 million regular viewers are rabidly following HBO's newest hit, "True Blood," as it swoops toward its season 3 finale Sept. 12. Meanwhile, Justin Cronin's "The Passage," Stephenie Meyer's "Breaking Dawn" and Charlaine Harris' "Dead and Gone" hover on best-seller lists.
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