'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' Shatters Box-Office Record

[big_dog]

Source: Business Insider/Hollywood Repoter 8 hours ago

"Star Wars: The Force Awakens" surpassed the record of $208.4 million set by "Jurassic World" over the summer with an astounding estimated $238 million in North America, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Industry insiders believe the number could be closer to $240 million. Final weekend totals come out on Monday.

Previous to this, the film had already broke the Thursday-preview record with $57 million, and the biggest single-day box-office record on Friday with $120 million. To put the huge weekend by "Awakens" in perspective, it made more than the opening weekends of "The Hobbit" trilogy (the big December release of the last three years) combined.

Meanwhile the battle for second place came down to the other new releases, and "Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip" took the spot with $14.4 million, while "Sister" came in third with $13.4 million.

Internationally, "The Force Awakens" made $279 million, that's the third-highest opening of all time behind "Jurassic World" ($316 million) and "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows: Part 2" ($314 million).



Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/star-wars-shatters-record-with-238-million-2015-12

[RandySF]

1. I'm dying to see it a second time.

[big_dog]

3. i vote for donald trump as vader in the sequel

[Renew Deal]

2. Why was Jurrasic World so popular?

Was it a kids movie?

[exboyfil]

7. Dinosaurs are always popular

and Jurassic Park was a great movie. I did not actually see this one, but I do plan to see it on DVD when it becomes available.

I was very pleased with The Force Awakens. I think it was better than Return of the Jedi (so third behind The Empire Strikes back and the original Star Wars movie). The best way I can describe it is that I feel a lot like I did coming out of the theater after Empire - I desperately want to see the next movie now.

One way to watch the prequel movies is to think about Jedi mind control powers. I subscribe to the theory that Jar Jar Binks was a very powerful Force user with his own agenda. Watch the original movies with that in mind. Also I think that after Anakin tells Padme about what happened to the Sand People - he effectively lobotomized her and turned her into his toy (he may not even have been aware that he did this).

As a bonus Ewoks may actually have the greatest Force mind control abilities in the galaxy. That is the only thing that can explain what happened on Endor.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

8. It had high heels....

[Orrex]

10. Beats me--it was garbage

I really really wanted to like it, but having now seen it twice I would rank it somewhere below JP3.

Linear story, awful characters, no real threat or sense of danger, and no emotional connection between any of the characters. Even as dumb-ass popcorn movies go, it was dumb.

[christx30]

15. Mostly nostalgia. n/t

[alcibiades_mystery]

9. To be fair, The Hobbit movies are fucking terrible

[exboyfil]

11. Parallels the Star Wars prequels

At some point the business aspects consume the creation. When I heard that Peter Jackson was turning The Hobbit into two movies, I thought that it was going to be a bloated mess. Then I heard it was going to be three movies. I was aghast. I never saw the first two in the theater. I watched them at home. I have yet to watch the third, and I have little desire to watch it. In fact the parallels are almost identical. I thought the second Lord of the Rings movie was the best just like the 2nd Star Wars movie.

[Codeine]

22. The first was so bad I refused to see the second and third.

What a letdown after the LotR trilogy.

[PatrynXX]

12. ho hum price of a ticket for Titanic around $4

1997


price of a ticket for starts $12-20 O_O too bad the minimum wage didn't work this way. could effectively put alot of theaters out of biz if they price them out.

[BumRushDaShow]

21. "ho hum price of a ticket for Titanic around $4"

That's cheap considering I paid $4.50 to see Return of the Jedi on opening day 14 years before 1997 - i.e., 1983 (4:25 pm showing).

My Saturday 10:00 am ticket for The Force Awakens was $9.75 - and that was at a theater in the Movie Tavern chain (wide comfortable reclining seats with foot rest, food delivered to you during the flick, etc).

[Recursion]

13. Its worldwide numbers took a hit by being locked out of India until the 25th

Unfortunately RCE (one of the biggest Bollywood studios) decided to release Dilwale, their big romantic comedy this year, on the 18th, and strongarmed Disney India into delaying TFA's release until Christmas day in the world's biggest film market. So, worldwide it's "only" the 2nd highest grossing opening week ever, with a $40 million overseas lag behind Lost World. But that also means it's going to get a huge 2nd week boost when it finally opens in India.

(Dilwale, meanwhile, is being called the worst Shahrukh Khan movie ever made, and not just by irate Star Wars fans. Mumbai just had its ComicCon this weekend, and a lot of people wore Star Wars costumes with duct tape over their mouths to show how pissed they are at RCE. Meanwhile, the Times of India film critic has said the studios need to re-think their policy of giving big names like SRK a blank check to keep making the same movie over and over again...)

[Codeine]

23. I love that DU has it's own foreign desk in India.

Your perspective is always appreciated.

[Treant]

14. Saw it Friday,

loved it, and I now consider Episodes I, II, and III never to have existed.

My hubby just ducked out to go to a late evening showing for his second viewing.

[ErikJ]

16. Just $3.75 Billion more needed to break even

It cost $4 billion to make.

[strategery blunder]

17. To be fair that $4B needs to be amortized over three movies

because Disney bought the IP to make VII, VIII, and IX, not just VII.

[Reter]

18. You are waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyy off

http://disneyexaminer.com/2015/07/24/this-is-how-much-it-probably-cost-to-make-star-wars-episode-7-the-force-awakens/

It costs 200 million to make. With 4 billion you could practically buy Star Wars, as the rights were bought from Lucas for that.

[Chakab]

19. Indeed. Not to mention the fact that a lot of the tech and set design used in TWA will be also

be used in Episodes VIII and IX, so those costs are spread over the trilogy as well.

Same goes for Rogue One and the Han Solo and Boba Fett origins movies.

[truthisfreedom]

20. Toys alone, pre-release, were in the billions.

I think Disney will make out.

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-star-wars-toys-20151219-story.html

[Adrahil]

24. Heck, that $4Billion bought them....

And money printing machine. Smartest. Deal. Ever.