The seventh Star Wars movie – which generated hundreds of sold-out shows and thousands of fans showing up in costume – was so powerful that it grossed about 70 times the amount taken in Thursday night by previews of Universal’s Tina Fey-Amy Poehler comedy “Sisters”, which drew $769,000 at 2,220 theaters.
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Overseas, “The Force Awakens” has grossed $72.7 million in two days, setting debut-day records in more than a dozen nations as it opens in 44 foreign markets. Many anchors, reporters and pundits won’t mind this.
Mediaite has decided to make the most of it with a new gallery identifying the Star Wars character counterparts of 23 prominent figures in broadcast and cable news today. Some come from the original trilogy, a few pop up from the prequels (sorry) and several of The Force Awakens’ new protagonists and antagonists feature.
“The Force Awakens” is the first Star Wars movie since Fox released George Lucas’ “Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith” a decade ago.
The previous record was US$43.5 million in 2011 for the final Harry Potter movie. Hollis has repeatedly reminded that “there are literally millions of tickets available”. The movie opened in 12 global markets on Wednesday. By Disney’s estimates, “The Force Awakens” _ the widest December opening ever with 4,134 theaters _ blew past that number by Friday afternoon. Disney said that 47 percent of the Thursday box office came from 3-D showings and $5.7 million from Imax screens. My appreciation for the franchise has grown exponentially over the past year.
Strong reviews for the film, which is set 30 years after “Return of the Jedi”, have added to the fervor for “The Force Awakens”.
Anticipation is so high that speculation has already emerged that “The Force Awakens” could set a new record for worldwide gross by passing “Avatar” at $2.78 billion.
But so far, “The Force Awakens” is attracting the interest of seemingly everyone. First lady Michelle Obama hosted a screening for children of families that lost members to war.
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“Okay everybody, I gotta get to Star Wars”, Obama said, leaving behind a White House press corps filled with questions.
