The film was intended to be the first in a trilogy. A second movie was released as Day Watch (2006). A third movie, titled Twilight Watch, was announced as the first English film in the series, but director Timur Bekmambetov left Russia to make Wanted (2008) first. He later said that Wanted had become how he had envisioned Twilight Watch, so he had no immediate plans to start working on the film. The project has since been shelved.
This film broke all records in Russia and became the #1 box-office movie of all time. The record was broken the following year by the Russian movie The Turkish Gambit (2005).
Originally, the film, as well as its sequels, was commissioned by Channel One as a four-part mini-series for television. The rushes impressed the executives so much that they decided the material merited big-screen treatment.
In Anton's apartment, a reproduction of Rembrandt's painting "Nightwatch" can be briefly seen reflected in a window.
Official selection from Russia for the Academy Awards of 2005.