Star Wars mania comes to the White House

A gaggle of Stormtroopers and the droid R2-D2 were spotted in West Wing Friday, December 18 as the seat of USA executive power succumbed to intergalactic-sized hype around the new blockbuster Star Wars movie.

The film had already broken ticket pre-sales records, The Hollywood Reporter said, with more than $100 million worth of tickets sold ahead of The Force Awakens’ release. The movie opened in 12 worldwide markets on Wednesday.

J.J. Abrams’ seventh chapter in George Lucas’s space saga arrived with the kind of hoopla and anticipation that few films have ever matched. “The Force Awakens” is simultaneously opening around the world just about everywhere but China, where it debuts in January.

A lot is riding on the film for Disney, which paid $4.06 billion for Lucasfilm in 2012.

That strong word of mouth will help “The Force Awakens” attract the kind of repeat viewings that made James Cameron’s “Avatar” and “Titanic” the highest grossing films of all time.

President Barack Obama ended his press conference on Isil by saying: “OK everybody, I have to get to Star Wars”. He actually watched the film with children whose family members had tragically lost their lives during the Iraq War. A stormtrooper and R2-D2 were seen with White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest, and at least one Star Wars reference was randomly shouted out.