'Force Awakens' becomes fastest movie to take US$1 billion

[webfact]

'Force Awakens' becomes fastest movie to $1 billion
By SANDY COHEN

LOS ANGELES (AP) — "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" has reached $1 billion at the box office, achieving the milestone with record-setting hyper speed.

The Walt Disney Co. said "The Force Awakens" crossed the billion-dollar mark Sunday, accomplishing the feat in just 12 days. The previous movie to reach $1 billion the fastest was Universal's "Jurassic World," which did it in 13 days in June. "Jurassic World" also had the benefit of record grosses in China. "The Force Awakens" doesn't open in the world's second-largest movie market until Jan. 9.

J.J. Abrams' installment of "Star Wars" also posted the biggest Christmas Day box office in history with $49.3 million and the best second-weekend earnings with $153.5 million.

"The Force Awakens" has been setting records since its debut Dec. 17. It brought in a galactic $238 million in North America over its opening weekend, besting previous record-setter "Jurassic World," and set international opening-weekend records in Australia, New Zealand and throughout Europe. It scored the biggest worldwide debut with $529 million. It also topped $100 million in IMAX screenings in 10 days, another global record.

"You almost have to rewrite all the record books for this movie," box office analyst Paul Dergarabedian of Rentrak said. "It's absolutely mind-blowing that 'Star Wars' could get to a billion dollars in 12 days and it hasn't even opened in China, the second biggest movie market in the world."

The power of "Star Wars" meant the rest of the week's releases were competing for second place. That prize went to the Paramount comedy "Daddy's Home," which opened with $38.8 million, according to studio estimates Sunday. David O. Russell's new drama starring Jennifer Lawrence, "Joy," debuted in third place with $17.5 million.

A flurry of new films also opened in the top 10 this weekend. "Concussion," the Will Smith-NFL drama, took in $11 million, good for sixth place, followed by the financial-crisis saga "The Big Short," which collected $10.5 million. The remake of "Point Break" opened with $10.2 million. And Quentin Tarantino's latest film, "The Hateful Eight," debuted in 10th place with $4.5 million.

A juggernaut like "Star Wars" empowers the entire industry, Dergarabedian said.

"It's great for the audiences, great for studios and theater owners in particular who can point to this and say the movie theater industry is as viable and relevant as it's ever been," he said.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Rentrak. Where available, the latest international numbers for Friday through Sunday are also included. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.

1. "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," $153.5 million ($133.3 international).

2. "Daddy's Home," $38.8 million ($4.4 million).

3. "Joy," $17.5 million ($2 million international).

4. "Sisters," $13.9 million ($300,000 international).

5. "Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip," $12.7 million ($8.1 million international).

6. "Concussion," $11 million.

7. "The Big Short," $10.5 million ($1.4 million international).

8. "Point Break," $10.2 million ($2 million).

9. "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay-Part 2," $5.3 million ($6.4 million).

10. "The Hateful Eight," $4.5 million.

___

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at international theaters (excluding the U.S. and Canada), according to Rentrak:

1. "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," $133.3 million.

2. "Devil and Angel," $55 million.

3. "Mojin: The Lost Legend," $44 million.

4. "Mr. Six," $27 million.

5. "The Peanuts Movie," $25 million.

6. "The Himalayas," $14.5 million.

7. "Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip," $8.1 million.

8. "The Good Dinosaur," $8 million.

9. "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay-Part 2," $6.4 million.

10. "Spectre," $5.6 million.
___

Universal and Focus are owned by NBC Universal, a unit of Comcast Corp.; Sony, Columbia, Sony Screen Gems and Sony Pictures Classics are units of Sony Corp.; Paramount is owned by Viacom Inc.; Disney, Pixar and Marvel are owned by The Walt Disney Co.; Miramax is owned by Filmyard Holdings LLC; 20th Century Fox and Fox Searchlight are owned by 21st Century Fox; Warner Bros. and New Line are units of Time Warner Inc.; MGM is owned by a group of former creditors including Highland Capital, Anchorage Advisors and Carl Icahn; Lionsgate is owned by Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.; IFC is owned by AMC Networks Inc.; Rogue is owned by Relativity Media LLC.


-- (c) Associated Press 2015-12-28

[spidermike007]

And from what I hear, from friends who have seen it, it is not that good. Great production values, but even less character development than in the previous films that Lucas directed. Any thoughts from the peanut gallery? J.J. Abrams is quite a change from Lucas, but clearly a man of great talent. Personally, I never thought Lucas had much talent. Alot of imagination, and no shortage of intelligence, but not a great talent in my book.

Edited December 28, 2015 by spidermike007

[Berkshire]

And from what I hear, from friends who have seen it, it is not that good. Great production values, but even less character development than in the previous films that Lucan directed. Any thoughts from the peanut gallery?

Clearly a matter of opinion, but I thought it was the best Star Wars ever. Not the best sci fi ever, but the best of the franchise. Both in terms of story and special effects. It'll break all records....but will not please everyone.

[retarius]

I saw it last night. Dire is the word that has been running through my mind. Exactly the same plot as the first movie. Same scenes (eg bar scene); same people (Carrie Fisher looks mighty old, the years have not been kind to her and Han Solo aged about 70 doesn't look too much like a resistance fighter with his stiff legs and all); same special effects (warping and so forth) ; same robots with one new one; same machines but bigger death star but with same weakness as first one.

Unimaginative a straightforward copy of the first movie. How I didn't get panned by critics I will never know. Crap and makes about 10 times what the original and creative movie did. Where is Kim Dotcom when you need him?

[TeaMonkey]

This film has very divided opinions. I thought it was quite bad and lacked any kind of originality. It felt rushed without any character development or credible plot line - and I wasn't expecting much.

The way I'd sum it up is it was like when you go on a movie's official ride at a theme park. They make a short 5 minute film which captures all the token elements from the main film and present it all in an action packed sequence. That's all this new Star Wars film felt like.

[robblok]

And from what I hear, from friends who have seen it, it is not that good. Great production values, but even less character development than in the previous films that Lucan directed. Any thoughts from the peanut gallery?

Clearly a matter of opinion, but I thought it was the best Star Wars ever. Not the best sci fi ever, but the best of the franchise. Both in terms of story and special effects. It'll break all records....but will not please everyone.

Agree i loved it.. so its a matter of opinion... just like food cant please everyone.

[Grouse]

I thoroughly enjoyed it even though the plot was exactly the same as the original. Made me feel very old though!

Typical Disney political correctness. The hero had to be black and the most daring feats undertaken by a woman!

However, seeing the Millenium Falcon again made it all worthwhile!

[robblok]

I thoroughly enjoyed it even though the plot was exactly the same as the original. Made me feel very old though!

Typical Disney political correctness. The hero had to be black and the most daring feats undertaken by a woman!

However, seeing the Millenium Falcon again made it all worthwhile!

Stupid remark about black and hero, not sure if you watched many movies but you would be hard pressed to find many black action hero's they are really under represented. So one in a movie is a good thing, unless of course your all for white pride.

[canuckamuck]

I watched the 6 previous instalments shortly before I saw this one. So the whole package was fresh in my mind. Part 7 was really good. I think people are just overly nostalgic over the original. It was a breakthrough movie for sure and it blew us away in 78. But you can only have one original Star Wars, and the rest of the franchise has to emanate from the first. I felt this movie had a wonderful balance of tipping its hat to the old series, yet building a character base for the new. Flawless effects too.

I was very surprised to see that Parker Schnabel is Han Solo's son.

[NeverSure]

I thoroughly enjoyed it.

[Grouse]

I thoroughly enjoyed it even though the plot was exactly the same as the original. Made me feel very old though!

Typical Disney political correctness. The hero had to be black and the most daring feats undertaken by a woman!

However, seeing the Millenium Falcon again made it all worthwhile!

Stupid remark about black and hero, not sure if you watched many movies but you would be hard pressed to find many black action hero's they are really under represented. So one in a movie is a good thing, unless of course your all for white pride.

I am not anti-black in movies - I thought the hero in Django Unchained was great!

But, not every movie please.....

[Ulysses G.]

I was never a big fan of the original - I thought it was OK - and the next two were acceptable, but I hated the ones after that. I will give this a try, but won't pay for it. I'm not expecting much.

Edited December 28, 2015 by Ulysses G.

[robblok]

I thoroughly enjoyed it even though the plot was exactly the same as the original. Made me feel very old though!

Typical Disney political correctness. The hero had to be black and the most daring feats undertaken by a woman!

However, seeing the Millenium Falcon again made it all worthwhile!

Stupid remark about black and hero, not sure if you watched many movies but you would be hard pressed to find many black action hero's they are really under represented. So one in a movie is a good thing, unless of course your all for white pride.

I am not anti-black in movies - I thought the hero in Django Unchained was great!

But, not every movie please.....

Ok you just named 2 movies with a black hero... out of countless. That hardly qualifies as every movie.

I did not really found the guy in this movie a hero, not more as the other lead players in the movie.

[impulse]

Please tell me there was no Jar Jar Binks...

[theguyfromanotherforum]

I am what you call a true fan (rolling eyes at my own post). I already mentioned my displeasure about this movie on another thread. I just think the whole effort was lazy and worst than phantom menace.

I popped Empire strikes back on blu ray yesterday and yep. That movie still owns force awakens in story line, practical effects and especially music which Jar Jar Abrams movie has none of that.

[tominbkk]

It was fun!

[daveAustin]

I saw it last night. Dire is the word that has been running through my mind. Exactly the same plot as the first movie. Same scenes (eg bar scene); same people (Carrie Fisher looks mighty old, the years have not been kind to her and Han Solo aged about 70 doesn't look too much like a resistance fighter with his stiff legs and all); same special effects (warping and so forth) ; same robots with one new one; same machines but bigger death star but with same weakness as first one.

Unimaginative a straightforward copy of the first movie. How I didn't get panned by critics I will never know. Crap and makes about 10 times what the original and creative movie did. Where is Kim Dotcom when you need him?

What a load of tosh! Some people just shouldn't be on the net. Yes it was similar but there had to be the connection with the original trilogy for the restart after the tangential 1, 2, 3... and not forgetting the whole premise of Star Wars, good vs evil, you can't lose that. So yes there was harping back to the original for both the nostalgia and re-acclimation etc but there was plenty renewed energy, great character development and the effects were out of this world -- falcon scenes are sublime.

It breaking all records will deem how worthy it is but you will ALWAYS get the oddball who thinks his opinion trumps all others. Bet you're the type that gives very popular movies such as this 1 out of 10 on the likes of IMDb; marking it right down because you just didn't like it while ignoring everything from production to acting and effects. In such cases your opinion doesn't count. Rotten Tomatoes is a good, fair indicator of a movie's worthiness by real movie buffs; have a look at that

I grew up with SW and have seen them all over and over. Urge those that haven't seen Force Awakens, do yourselves a favour (esp if you have kids); ignore rubbish like the above because it is an epic and blows them all out the water.

[daveAustin]

I am what you call a true fan (rolling eyes at my own post). I already mentioned my displeasure about this movie on another thread. I just think the whole effort was lazy and worst than phantom menace.

I popped Empire strikes back on blu ray yesterday and yep. That movie still owns force awakens in story line, practical effects and especially music which Jar Jar Abrams movie has none of that.

While it's hard to not compare them, I'd avoid doing so too much as things have moved on from back then when the whole Star Wars culture was new and so different. People tend to get caught up with nostalgia and pan anything that comes after (like many Trekkies on the reboot). Hard to top an original story but expect episode 8 will be much different to Empire now we've been reacquainted.

[Berkshire]

I thoroughly enjoyed it even though the plot was exactly the same as the original. Made me feel very old though!

Typical Disney political correctness. The hero had to be black and the most daring feats undertaken by a woman!

However, seeing the Millenium Falcon again made it all worthwhile!

Stupid remark about black and hero, not sure if you watched many movies but you would be hard pressed to find many black action hero's they are really under represented. So one in a movie is a good thing, unless of course your all for white pride.

I am not anti-black in movies - I thought the hero in Django Unchained was great!

But, not every movie please.....

Odd comment. Do you complain when you see a white hero in a movie? Well why not?

[canuckamuck]

I think Django unchained would have been better with a white hero.

[Grouse]

Look, this is Star Wars. They could have had any kind of weird alien as a renegade trooper. But no, they chose an African American. Because he was a great actor? A great stunt guy? Heart throb?

Of course not. Political correctness sells more seats!

Same as Star Treck. Had a Russian and a Scotsman and a guy with deformed ears!

[thaibeachlovers]

And from what I hear, from friends who have seen it, it is not that good. Great production values, but even less character development than in the previous films that Lucan directed. Any thoughts from the peanut gallery?

Clearly a matter of opinion, but I thought it was the best Star Wars ever. Not the best sci fi ever, but the best of the franchise. Both in terms of story and special effects. It'll break all records....but will not please everyone.

Only Star Wars has been great IMO. It was entirely plot driven and succeeded despite wooden acting from Hamil and few special effects.

The latest is an example of what you can do with an unlimited budget and massive CGI input, but it had no sparkle for me. The female lead and the stormtrooper turned rebel were IMO totally miscast. She never got me invested in her character and he was just faintly annoying. Surely they could have found someone more menacing for the part of Han's son- he looked as though he wouldn't hurt a fly. The evil guy without a mask was the most realistic of all the baddies.

The best to be said about the film was no Ewoks or Jar Jar Binks.

Obviously Harrison Ford was asking too much to be in the films, LOL.

Finally, we never got to find out who she was waiting for- bummer.

The fact the film is minting it is down to hype rather than the movie itself. They managed to make it a must see movie, and that has been successful.

[Srikcir]

Please tell me there was no Jar Jar Binks...

According to some fan theories, Jar Jar Binks actually may have become Supreme Leader Snokes.

[Scott]

An unsourced post that violates Fair Use Policy has been removed.

[Berkshire]

I am what you call a true fan (rolling eyes at my own post). I already mentioned my displeasure about this movie on another thread. I just think the whole effort was lazy and worst than phantom menace.

I popped Empire strikes back on blu ray yesterday and yep. That movie still owns force awakens in story line, practical effects and especially music which Jar Jar Abrams movie has none of that.

While it's hard to not compare them, I'd avoid doing so too much as things have moved on from back then when the whole Star Wars culture was new and so different. People tend to get caught up with nostalgia and pan anything that comes after (like many Trekkies on the reboot). Hard to top an original story but expect episode 8 will be much different to Empire now we've been reacquainted.

Agree that the first Star Wars was the best for the longest time, mostly because it was an original idea and pretty innovative at the time. I was consistently disappointed every time a new Star Wars came out, with the possible exception of Episode III (the 6th). This one exceeded expectations, for a change.

[Skeptic7]

Saw it opening day in 3-D at Terminal 21. As a HUGE Star Wars fan, I'd say it was only fair. Three stars out of 5. Doesn't come within a parsec of the Original two movies Episode IV, 1977 and Episode V, 1980...but much better than the other sad attempts, with the exception of perhaps Episode III, 2005...which was the best of that sad lot, but still barely comes within a light-year of the originals.

That said...Harrison Ford was the highlight of this movie! He was able to bring back the old magic and galactic fun. Without him and Chewbacca, the movie would have sucked. Carrie Fisher was not able to pull it off and it will remain to be seen whether Mark Hamill can do so in the next episode...if he is even in it...but sure seems he will be by the way this movie ended.

Edited December 29, 2015 by Skeptic7

[thaibeachlovers]

I don't know why making a lot of money is equated with a film being good. This film is probably drawing in people that never go to cinemas, just to see what the hype is all about. It's only average as films go, but the publicity has been genius.

I was far more hyped after Spectre than this run of the mill sci fi movie.

[theguyfromanotherforum]

I was far more hyped after Spectre than this run of the mill sci fi movie.

Speaking of another disappointment.

The only good movie I saw this year was Sicario.

...and that says a lot because I try to avoid anything Canadian.

[thaibeachlovers]

I was far more hyped after Spectre than this run of the mill sci fi movie.

Speaking of another disappointment.

The only good movie I saw this year was Sicario.

...and that says a lot because I try to avoid anything Canadian.

Yes, that was great film. Pity all the really good films nowadays seem to be so violent. Used to be that dramas were great.

[innerspace]

Liked the film.

Sure it had a lot of similarities to the plot of iv but much better than 1-3.

Fitting in the original characters with the best plot points that made the original great, plus a few new characters worked well to usher in the new trilogy.

The next 2 will decide whether the grand plan succeeds or fails but this movie was a safe and solid foundation to restore confidence after a terrible trio.

Upset a few but overall rekindled the older generations and attracted the new, one of few films that will excite 5-95 years olds.