Claim: The Twilight Saga's first installment was released in 2008.

The Twilight Saga : Eclipse , commonly referred to as Eclipse , is a 2010 American romantic fantasy film based on Stephenie Meyer 's 2007 novel Eclipse . It is the third installment of The Twilight Saga film series , following 2008 's Twilight and 2009 's New Moon . Summit Entertainment greenlit the film in February 2009 . Directed by David Slade , the film stars Kristen Stewart , Robert Pattinson , and Taylor Lautner , reprising their roles as Bella Swan , Edward Cullen , and Jacob Black , respectively . Melissa Rosenberg , who penned the scripts for both Twilight and New Moon , returned as screenwriter .  Filming began on August 17 , 2009 , at Vancouver Film Studios , and finished in late October , with post-production began early the following month . Bryce Dallas Howard was cast as Victoria , replacing Rachelle Lefevre who previously played her .   The film was released worldwide on June 30 , 2010 in theatres , and became the first Twilight film to be released in IMAX . The film has received mixed reception from critics . It held the record for biggest midnight opening in the United States and Canada in box office history , grossing an estimated $ 30 million , until it was surpassed by Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows -- Part 2 in 2011 . The film then scored the biggest Wednesday opening in the United States and Canada history with $ 68,533,840 beating Transformers : Revenge of the Fallen 's $ 62 million . Eclipse has also become the film with the widest independent release , playing in over 4,416 theaters , surpassing its predecessor , The Twilight Saga : New Moon , which held the record since November 2009 .