Star Wars: The Force Awakens – 1600+ AMC Screens Sold Out, Film May Gross Over $3 Billion Worldwide.
Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens continues to obliterate American box office records as Deadline reports that AMC only have so many seats left available for the film’s opening weekend as the show continues to sell out! Meanwhile, The Hollywood Reporter estimates that the film will put previous record-holders for the highest-grossing film of all time to shame.
First up on today’s tale of financial conquest is some hard numbers that are certainly set in stone. AMC has claimed that they have room for a little more than 4 million seats open for their screenings of The Force Awakens – 3.5 million of which are for standard 2D and 3D showings, and the remaining 500,000+ for premium IMAX and Dolby formats. While 4 million might sound like a lot, to put it into perspective with that number, that means that over 1,600 of the screens in their 346 American/Canadian theaters are completely sold out. (If you haven’t got a ticket yet, just keep in mind that most of the sold-out shows are for the Thursday/Friday premiere – along with the aforementioned premium format showings.)
The second point worth bringing up is more interesting – Barton Crockett, an analyst from FBR Capital Markets, has suggested that the highly-anticipated movie will break the bank by making around $730 million domestically and $1.9 billion internationally, adding up to a total of $2.63 billion worldwide. A more optimistic from Crockett states that the movie will end its worldwide run with a staggering $1 billion domestically and a $2.5 billion internationally, adding up to a total of $3.5 billion worldwide. The former estimate would put make the film the second-highest-grossing movie ever made (with the film’s total gross just below 2009’s Avatar), while the latter estimate would have it make as much profit as Avatar made in ticket sales alone, which would easily establish The Force Awakens as the highest-grossing film of all time.
Image Credit to Kate Doodles.
What would these estimates mean for the Star Wars franchise as a whole? Well, on a lower estimate, the poential gross of The Force Awakens would raise the Star Wars franchise into becoming the third-highest-grossing film franchise of all time (between James Bond and Harry Potter), and with a higher estimate, it would be second only to the Marvel Cinematic Universe as the most lucrative film franchise ever made. Crockett also noted that the ticket sales for The Force Awakens should also bode well for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, even though that’s a spin-off and not a traditional sequel. His estimate was that the first film in the Star Wars Anthology series could bring $1.6-2.4 billion based on this film’s performance. The Force Friday merchandise push is also valuable in Crockett’s eyes, which would increase Disney’s merchandise sales from $2.05 billion to $5 billion within a year.
As it stands, it appears as though Disney has turned an already-profitable brand into a veritable cash cow powerhouse in the span of three years and a few weeks. Stay tuned to Star Wars News Net as we cover more financial news and the latest and greatest about the Galaxy Far, Far Away.
Grant has been a fan of Star Wars for as long as he can remember, having seen every movie on the big screen. When he’s not hard at work with his college studies, he keeps himself busy by reporting on all kinds of Star Wars news for SWNN and general movie news on the sister site, Movie News Net. He served as a frequent commentator on SWNN’s The Resistance Broadcast.
Uncanny, but not unexpected.
i think a GREAT star wars reboot has more of a chance to make that type of money than this movie…2.1 billion seems more realistic
but we don’t know how good or bad this film is yet…unless you have something to tell us. 😉
If the movie is any good in the smallest way , the box office is gonna be insane.
Totally agree. All of this seems based on this being a competent film and just following the trends from the pre-sales. If the film is truly a good Star Wars film, all us devoted fans will easily add a good 20% or more extra sales alone. If it’s a good enjoyable film like say Guardians of the Galaxy it will definitely get extra viewing even from less hardcore SW fans. It’s gonna be crazy. I just hope it’s on Blu-ray well before mid-2016. I want this yesterday!
i think a GREAT star wars reboot has more of a chance to make that type of money than this movie…2.1 billion seems more realistic
Reboot? Pfffttt that’s blasphemy!!
i know
Do you realize how badly fans would crucify that film if it ever happened? Do not blaspheme.
The cartoon image of George Lucas with Mickey Mouse ears is a bit misleading.
He made over 4 billion when he sold the Star Wars rights to Disney, but he will not profit from The Force Awakens and further profits the franchise generates.
You have proof that Disney did not agree to continue giving him a certain percentage of the money all Star Wars anything generates for the remainder of his life? That is most likely the case which is probably the reason he sold his company to Disney for such a small amount of money in the first place.
Absolutely right. The 4 billion was just for starters. No question he’s getting back end.
You’d have to be crazy to think that Lucas won’t be still pulling profits from the franchise he created.
Chump change compared to what he’ll be raking in over the next decade or so.
Yeah OKAY. Lucas is going to continue to make money off the Star Wars franchise for as long as he lives. You can bet the bank on that. I’m 100% sure that was in the agreement when he sold Star Wars. He would be a fool.
He does own a good amount of Disney stock still. He may be retired now from SW, and he may not have any creative decision-making power anymore, but that won’t stop him from making money from these new movies based on stocks alone.
It’s as farcial as Mark Fuckerburg’s “donation”. Ever hear of tax-write offs?
The only reason I used the George Lucas cartoon was for the sake of brand recognition. Sure, a picture of Bob Iger or Kathleen Kennedy jumping into that gold hoard would probably be more thematically-appropriate for the situation, but then the point would be lost on the accuracy. George Lucas is, for better or for worse, the face of the Star Wars franchise, even if he’s not the one making the most money off of the franchise anymore.
– Pomojema
The AMC mulitplex near me only has the 8pm showing on 12/18/2015 sold out.
Do you live in or near a major city?
Yeah. The metropolitan area is 2 million.
I don’t know about your area, but most of the theaters around Chicago are having roughly 9 showings between 7PM and 1:30AM on the 17th. They’re just well prepared.
I’ll be happy if it puts Avatar to shame.
I wouldn’t mind if it became the highest grossing film if it’s as good as I hope it to be. Avatar doesn’t deserve to be at the top.
I’ll certainly do my best to help TFA beat Avatar. If I really like this film, I may see it a few dozen times or more through February or March.
You and me both.
I’m with you too 🙂
Not good enough, dangit, NOT GOOD ENOUGH!
who cares
I do.
more money = more star wars.
James Cameron is one of my favorite directors, and The Terminator and Aliens are in my favorite top ten of all time. That being said, I never understood the overwhelming success of Avatar. I can honestly say I was bored halfway into the movie and felt that it was a sci-fi remake of Dances with Wolves.
Here’s hoping that The Force Awakens blows it out of the water. I’ll do my part.
He lost it after Titanic which isn’t my favorite film of his but was well made. Like Lucas, He has some sort of creative mental degenerative disease considering he wants to make a ton of Avatar sequels now.
really and force awakens is a good movie…oh wait
I think much like Episode III with the PT, All the really amazing stuff in this trilogy will happen with the next one.
For Cameron, innovative technology is his muse to create. His films are often a showcase for groundbreaking technology in cinema; the story complements the method and techniques of storytelling.
Yeah pretty much all his stories and ideas are stolen as he’s been sued several times over the yers but now he’s a lot more blatant about it.
Even if this film is worse than AOTC (which I don’t think is scientifically possible) it’s a testament to Mark/Carrie/Harrison/Peter/Anthony that everyone still cares enough about their characters to want to see them in a sequel over three decades after the last one even after the PT jaded a segment of the population. I’m also pretty sure that 30 years is the longest gap in film history where an actor has reprised their character.
Even if Lucas were still writing/producing/directing, I think this film would have had blockbuster all over it since the only thing that fans of the OT looked forward to more as kids than the PT was what came afterward hence why the EU was such a success. Especially considering many people (myself included) thought that the ST would never ever happen.
There’s a great threat about the longest gap: http://www.giantbomb.com/forums/off-topic-31/longest-gap-where-an-actor-reprises-the-same-role-1771209/
Harrison in Blade Runner 2 will top the list soon.
Sound like it’s number one as of now since I don’t count direct to video sequels. I very much doubt Ridley Scott will be around let alone directing by the end of the decade judging by how unwell he looks now, So I’m sure he will push the timetable up on those.
Well I’ll be seeing it 5 times at least, 3 times 2D, twice in 3D and maybe a final IMAX 3D hurrah before it leaves theatres whenever that is. I cannot wait. Unless it turns out like AOTC in which case I’ll pass my tickets on to the homeless for a couple hours of heat.
If it does and you do then you should tried for cruel and unusual punishment.
David,
So, if the movies is bad, you will be generous enough to provide heat for the homeless while simultaneously subjecting them to poor filmmaking. As an option, return the tickets and take someone homeless to Chipotle (not one on the ecoli list).
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
Can’t beat Avatar. 2.7 Bill?
It’ll beat Avatar no doubt. Ultimate hype + fanboys and repeat viewings + inflation + way more IMAX and 3D theaters + just more theaters in general = WAY more money
wow, 3 bills for a franchise they paid 4.5 bil for overall? best move disney has ever made… even over buying marvel.
Almost a guarantee that Snoak, Luke, Maz, etc. will all get TV spot time a day before the film is out to get those still on the fence about this one into theaters. At the very least someone will post pics of them on here somewhere.
Definitely not. Now, that’s not to say they won’t get leaked you said at the end of your above comment, but Lucasfilm will certainly not abandon all of their principles thus far just a day or two away from release.
Who’s to say they didn’t leak them themselves? A few months back, Viral Hide said they have people on the inside and know what Snoke looks like. I been waiting for them to drop that information ever since and I can only assume it wil happen before the film’s release.
The other films also showed all kinds of shit in press materials right before the release date.
I think it’s pretty obvious that this is not “the other films”. Like i said, if Lucasfilm planned on showing TV spots featuring Luke, Maz, etc., they already would have done so. It’s simply not going to happen.
We’ll see but they are bound to have something shocking on opening day that they are holding back. Luke seems to be the big mystery so I think he’s less likely than Maz who has already been on the poster and whose hand you can see in the teaser.
Well, I just got a ticket for a Thursday showing (the second, non-3D one as the first was sold out), and I plan on seeing it in both IMAX and D-Box later.
Ill just watch it on youtube