Twister Vs Twisters Box Office: Which Movie Was The Bigger Hit?

As the 1996 disaster film Twister completes 30 years, let’s look back and find out whether it was a bigger box office success than its 2024 sequel, Twisters.

- May 11, 2026 | 4:22 PM IST

Twister Vs Twisters Box Office ( Photo Credit – Prime Video )

Jan de Bont’s immensely popular disaster film, Twister, was released in U.S. theaters on May 10, 1996, and has now completed thirty years. In addition to garnering positive reviews from many critics, the film, starring Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton in the lead roles, delivered solid box-office numbers. Made on a $92 million budget, it went on to earn $241.8 million in North America and $494.6 million worldwide. This means it generated an estimated theatrical surplus of $264.6 million beyond its estimated $230 million break-even point, using the 2.5x multiplier rule.

Its standalone sequel, Twisters, starring Daisy Edgar-Jones, Glen Powell, and Anthony Ramos, hit the big screen in the U.S. on July 19, 2024. Now, let’s take a look at whether the original 1996 film was a bigger box office success than its sequel.

Twister vs. Twisters – Box Office Comparison

Here is how the two films performed at the box office, according to data from Box Office Mojo.

Twister (1996) – Box Office Summary

North America: $241.8 million
International: $252.8 million
Worldwide: $494.6 million

Twisters (2024) – Box Office Summary

North America: $267.8 million
International: $104.5 million
Worldwide: $372.3 million

Based on the above figures, it can be observed that Twister earned around $122.3 million more worldwide than its sequel, Twisters. This translates to roughly 33% higher worldwide earnings than the sequel.

As mentioned earlier, the original film had a theatrical surplus of $264.6 million. In comparison, since the sequel was made on a $155 million production budget, it needed to earn $387.5 million worldwide, using the 2.5x multiplier rule. With a global haul of $372.3 million, this means it had an estimated box office deficit of around $15.2 million.

Based on the above numbers and calculations, the original film was not only a bigger box office success in terms of raw worldwide gross but also in terms of theatrical surplus.

What Was Twister All About?

The disaster film follows two storm chasers, Dr. Jo Harding (Helen Hunt) and her estranged husband Bill (Bill Paxton), who team up to deploy a pathbreaking tornado research device in the midst of a powerful storm in Oklahoma.