Originally Posted By FerretAfros >>Great films 1939. There was a lot. Then again .. that was the golden age of film, when the studio system was cranking out films like crazy.<< It's been argued that 1939 was the best year in cinema history. Obviously any year with Gone with the Wind would be pretty noteworthy, but with other classics like The Wizard of Oz, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Mr Smith Goes to Washington, Ninotchka, Young Mr Lincoln, and Of Mice and Men, it's hard to imagine another year that even compares to that On the flip side, GWTW had to compete with some of the best all-time classics, and still pulled in the biggest numbers in history. Sure The Force Awakens has to compete with TV and the internet, but what else is in theaters right now? Not much
Originally Posted By TheRedhead "it strikes me as odd that the film industry has always focused on dollar totals instead of the number of tickets sold" The film industry is in the business of making their films sound as successful as possible. Disney has gotten 48 hours of free advertising from the press and social media all talking about how massive and amazing this movie's box office is, specifically because we're talking dollars as opposed to tickets sold. Why would Disney want their headline to be "Force Awakens falls short of Excorcist, Jaws, Psycho, Sound of Music, Birth of a Nation, and 458 other movies"? Yeah, it's not an apples to apples comparison, but the people controlling the message don't like those apples.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros I don't see why they couldn't make similar headlines by focusing on tickets sold, rather than the money. Adele's new album sure got people talking about its huge success, based on the number of copies sold Sure it would be hard for a film to sell more tickets than some of the classics, but I suspect that a lot of the records that TFA broke would have been broken regardless. Have ticket prices really risen so much in the last few years that it wouldn't have beaten Harry Potter's opening weekend numbers? Plus, the way that Disney controls the message, I'm sure that Star Wars would have been making headlines regardless. It's always entertaining to see what sort of cross-promotions wind up on ABC (particularly daytime) and other Disney-owned networks during big releases
Originally Posted By oc_dean Out just barely over a week. Internationally - 813 million. Disney must be laughing all the way to the bank .. with Mr. Banks! While they say to all other studios .. Go fly a kite! This doesn't even count Merchandising! Some will even say - Buying Lucas Film for 4 billion was a bargain!
Originally Posted By Yookeroo "Some will even say - Buying Lucas Film for 4 billion was a bargain!" I think some have said that. 30 posts ago.
Originally Posted By Mr X Yes and No. George Lucas was burned out and disheartened after his efforts were rejected. He sold his business because he knew a new generation could do something different. He got a fair price for his genius. Disney took that purchase and went in a new, fan-friendly direction. I think it's win-win.
Originally Posted By TheRedhead I would highly recommend reading this article from The Economist: <a target="blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.economist.com/news/briefing/21684138-disney-making-fortune-and-safeguarding-its-future-buying-childhood-piece-piece">http://www.economist.com/news/...ce-piece</a> Not only is there a nifty chart from Walt that shows the merits of a diversified company, but it has this bit of info I had never heard before: "Mr Iger had demonstrated his sensitivity to Mr Lucas more than 20 years before when, as an executive at ABC, he approved a second series of Lucasfilm’s “Young Indiana Jones Chronicles” despite poor ratings in the first season. Mr Iger felt Mr Lucas had lived up to his commitments to make a high-quality show and deserved the opportunity. When he broached the idea of buying Lucasfilm in 2011, Mr Lucas told him he had not forgotten the kindness. Mr Lucas, the founder and sole owner, never considered selling to anyone else."
Originally Posted By ecdc >>Mr Lucas told him he had not forgotten the kindness. Mr Lucas, the founder and sole owner, never considered selling to anyone else.<< I really don't think people get this about the entertainment industry. At the end of the day, these are people working with other people. You'd rather deal w/ people who are nice to you than divas and self-important artistes.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros Not only is it an industry that has to function rather than feed egos, but it's also a relatively small industry and everybody knows everybody. I'd never heard the Young Indy connection (I assumed his affinity for Disney came from the parks projects in the 80's and 90's), but it just shows how Hollywood can feel like a small town at times
Originally Posted By trekkeruss "It was the film industry itself that had no competition. Before television. And far before Internet, personal computers, gaming, etc." Speaking of the internet, a person can watch Star Wars or any other new movie without buying a ticket and going to the theater.
Originally Posted By trekkeruss The one place SW will beat GWTW hands down is in merchandise tie-ins. Star Wars stuff is EVERYWHERE. Not just toys either. Heck, I even see Star Wars cosmetics at the store. One analyst estimates SW consumer products sales could reach $5B in its first year.
Originally Posted By Jim in Merced CA <Speaking of the internet, a person can watch Star Wars or any other new movie without buying a ticket and going to the theater.> I hear about people doing this - stealing music and movies - I wonder how they justify their actions.
Originally Posted By DDMAN26 Weekend estimates are starting to come out, right now 153 million for a 544 million total. Also 1,090 billion worldwide fastest to that mark. By next Sunday it will pass Avatar here in US. Worldwide well that depends on China
Originally Posted By dagobert These numbers are amazing, but I'm still not convinced that TFA will surpass Titanic and I'm still holding the opinion that Avatar will remain on top.
Originally Posted By ecdc Doesn't that depend on which metric we're using? The Force Awakens is already the fifth-highest domestic grossing movie of all-time. It took in 150 million this weekend. If that drops to even 100 million for the next seven days, it'll be within 14 million of Titanic. That seems very likely. Avatar is another 100 million after that. So will the Force Awakens make $200 million more? It seems likely. Now, if we're talking international, that seems tougher to reach Avatar. Star Wars doesn't translate internationally the way things like Jurassic Park and Avatar do. But the Force Awakens is already 15th internationally and the movie hasn't opened in China yet. It needs another 600 million to reach 3rd on the international list, behind Titanic and Avatar. And of course, adjusting for inflation seems by far the best way--flawed as it inherently is--to judge these kinds of things. Do that and it seems likely the Force Awakens will reach the top 20 but not the top 10. It would need over 900 million to reach the top ten to dethrone...Snow White.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros I wouldn't expect a huge box office for Star Wars in China. As ecdc mentioned, SW doesn't do as well internationally, and there is almost no affinity for it in China. Part of the reason that the Shanghai park is getting a version of Launch Bay is to introduce the franchise to the guests, who may not know anything about it. There's a chance it will do well, like any big popcorn flick, but I wouldn't expect anything special just because it is Star Wars
Originally Posted By ecdc This is bonkers: >>Force Awakens is expected to pass Avatar by the end of New Year's weekend in North America, and even has a shot of ultimately hitting $1 billion domestically.<< I didn't see that coming. <a target="blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/star-wars-box-office-people-851169">http://www.hollywoodreporter.c...e-851169</a>
Originally Posted By oc_dean Doesn't seem impossible to reach 2 billion, and then some ... once it opens in China.
Originally Posted By dagobert The numbers are still impressive, but TFA brought in less than estimated. The final weekend numbers are 149,2 Million Dollars for the US and 137,7 Million Dollars international. <a target="blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://variety.com/2015/film/news/star-wars-box-office-christmas-weekend-1201668217/">http://variety.com/2015/film/n...1668217/</a>
