Star Wars: The Force Awakens thrills fans, sets records
Actor on the red carpet of the Star Wars The Force Awakens premiere in Los Angeles. Posting an estimated $57 million from Thursday evening previews, J.J.
If the estimates hold, “The Force Awakens” will easily beat the previous Thursday-night record of $43.5 million by Warner Bros. Expect more record-breaking numbers in the weeks to come. And in The Force Awakens, the Kenobian legacy figures are Han Solo and Leia Organa: Rey is the spiritual successor to both, having Han’s wits and Leia’s resolve, and now she’s pitted against the son who rejected them. Internationally the movie has already earned $72.7 million over the last two days, tallying the global earnings to almost $130 million. Disney’s carefully planned release of film trailers and tidbits of information over several months also boosted ticket sales, he said.
The film, which carries a production cost of at least $200 million, opened in 32 additional foreign markets Thursday will open in most other markets Friday. Kelly Andrews, who wears her love of “Star Wars” on her skin in the form of Yoda and R2-D2 tattoos, bought tickets in October for the first showing at Hollywood’s classic TCL Chinese Theatre, where the original “Star Wars” premiered in 1977.
Not everyone in the opening-night audience was dazzled, though.
Strong reviews for the film, which is set 30 years after “Return of the Jedi”, have added to the fervour for “The Force Awakens”.
But the films in which they appeared, aren’t just remembered by those who are old enough to have seen them in theaters.
“It’s definitely worth all the hype”, he said.
As for Wednesday, France chalked up $5.2M making it the biggest opening day ever in December, more than doubling the first day of Avengers and nearly double the first day of Jurassic World.