UPDATE! Star Wars: The Force Awakens Has $52.6 Million OW in China, Surpasses Jurassic World Worldwide.

Tailor-made Chinese poster of Star Wars: The Force Awakens (PRNewsFoto/The Walt Disney)

Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens has left a mark on China with its $32.1 million opening day, which is one of the largest (but not record-shattering) single-day grosses in the history of the Chinese box office. That has already made it far and away the most profitable Star Wars movie released over there – and should raise further interest in subsequent installments.

 

The opening-day gross – which is estimated to potentially be as high as $33 million – falls short of the opening-day gross for Disney’s other mega-hit of 2015, Avengers: Age Of Ultron (which pulled in $33.9 million on its opening day). As it stands, though, that’s very impressive for a film franchise that has struggled to get the attention of China’s box office in previous years. The film should remain open for another month or so due to Chinese restrictions on how long foreign films can be played, and box office experts from China and abroad are stating that the film will make anything between $130 million to $300 million by the time its run is finished. The film’s competition will primarily be movies made by China’s own studios and the forthcoming release of Kung Fu Panda 3 (a Chinese co-production with Dreamworks).

 

In other news, the film has made a total of $1.6 billion worldwide thus far, crossing the $800 million mark internationally. In the United States, it grossed a few million short of beneath the wide release of The Revenant for this Friday, although the movie could still end up ultimately winning the weekend – and even if it doesn’t, the movie will still add more money to protect its title as the highest-grossing American film when not accounting for inflation.

 

22 - Starkiller-base

 

UPDATE!

 

The opening weekend receipts have come in, and it appears as though The Force Awakens has made $52.6 million in a mere two days. The movie’s Saturday and Sunday grosses have set single-day records for those two days of the week, meaning that the film is already off to a great start in the Middle Kingdom. Beyond China, The Force Awakens has protected its title as the #1 movie in America against The Revenant, which previously beat the movie on Friday.

 

Furthermore, the movie now officially eclipsed Jurassic World as the #3 highest-grossing worldwide release in cinematic history at a staggering $1.7334 billion cume. It also  It’s most impressive considering that all of that has been gained in 26 days – if the movie keeps up, then it could reach $2 billion at a faster rate than Avatar (which made that much money in 44 days). Stay on target with Star Wars News Net for more of the latest and greatest news stories about the Galaxy Far, Far Away.

 

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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.

Grant Davis (Pomojema)

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.

96 thoughts on “UPDATE! Star Wars: The Force Awakens Has $52.6 Million OW in China, Surpasses Jurassic World Worldwide.

  • January 9, 2016 at 9:23 pm
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    i wonder if in the chinese version the first order are the heroes. 😉

    • January 9, 2016 at 10:12 pm
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      Like General Hux, the Chinese leadership is not sympathetic to “regimes that acquiesce to disorder”.

    • January 10, 2016 at 1:48 am
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      You must’ve been trying to make a North Korea joke and made a mistake along the way.

      • January 10, 2016 at 1:57 am
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        if FO = NK, the movie would have been over in five minutes.

      • January 10, 2016 at 6:29 am
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        Actually no, the Chinese culture, or at least the culture the government’s trying to push the public into, has a lot in common with North Korea. Glorification of whichever leader is hot, imprisonment of undesirables, over-respect for elders — so long as that elder agrees with the government, if the elder is “undesirable,” kill them.

        Actually, I didn’t think of it at the time, but Kylo Ren and Snoke are actually very good models of how the “People’s Revolution” actually went down, including the part about killing your backwards weakling parents. It’s not limited to North Korea and it is assuredly not a joke in the least.

  • January 9, 2016 at 9:35 pm
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    That’ll be that then. No chance of reaching Avatar internationally. Bum! 🙁

    • January 9, 2016 at 10:03 pm
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      My thoughts exactly 🙁

    • January 9, 2016 at 11:23 pm
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      no shame in getting the silver medal. 🙂

    • January 9, 2016 at 11:24 pm
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      Or we could just not be pessimists 🙂

    • January 10, 2016 at 1:49 am
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      I don’t think it will reach Avatar, but I still think there is plenty more to go. It has only been out for a few weeks. It should still be able to knock off Titanic internationally.

    • January 10, 2016 at 2:54 am
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      Yeah, it went crazy as all the fans saw it once or twice (or more). But I don’t see it getting a lot of re-watches from casual people. Avatar, while terrible, was visually stunning enough that people who don’t see movies twice did to marvel at the specter. Then saw it months later on their home tv and realized without 3D . . . it’s Dances with Wolves with large smurfs.

    • January 10, 2016 at 7:33 am
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      For the record, most people saw Avatar in 3D. I’m sure that if you looked at number of tickets sold, Avaatr and TFA would be much closer to equal.

    • January 10, 2016 at 11:11 am
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      I like your avatar. RIP ‘Killmaster’.

  • January 9, 2016 at 10:05 pm
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    Notice how small those racist fucks made Finn on the poster? At first he was removed but they put him back after public backlash. Fuck the Chinese!

    • January 9, 2016 at 10:12 pm
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      They must have really hated Chewie and Poe Dameron.

      • January 9, 2016 at 10:29 pm
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        I’m guessing they really hate the Jedi…well maybe the last one anyway

    • January 9, 2016 at 10:16 pm
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      I know a lot of people who are Asian/Chinese/Japanese/Oriental who are not Racist
      I know a lot of people who are black who are not Racist
      I know a lot of people who are white who are not Racist
      I know a lot of people who are brown who are not Racist

      But I have also met a lot of really stupid people from all backgrounds that have the disease of the mind that is Racism…I may be wrong but some people might consider what you have written a racist

      • January 10, 2016 at 3:25 am
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        Singing:

        Everyone’s a little bit racist
        Sometimes.
        Doesn’t mean we go
        Around committing hate crimes!
        Look around and you will find
        No one’s really color blind.
        Maybe it’s a fact
        We all should face
        Everyone makes judgments
        Based on race!

        Everyone’s a little bit racist
        Today.
        So, everyone’s a little bit racist
        Okay!
        Ethinic jokes might be uncouth,
        But you laugh because
        They’re based on truth.
        Don’t take them as
        Personal attacks.
        Everyone enjoys them –
        So relax!

        If we all could just admit
        That we are racist a little bit,
        Even though we all know
        That it’s wrong,
        Maybe it would help us
        Get along!

        Everyone’s a little bit racist
        It’s true.
        But everyone is just about
        As racist as you!
        If we all could just admit
        That we are racist a little bit,
        And everyone stopped being
        So PC
        Maybe we could live in –
        Harmony!

        • January 10, 2016 at 10:24 pm
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          My judgments are less about race and more about income and location. If I am walking in a shady neighborhood and I see a group of tattooed black men in white tank tops, I think I have the right to feel a little bit intimidated. And to be clear, I am a black man myself, so race seriously has nothing to do with it.

    • January 9, 2016 at 10:56 pm
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      Maybe it’s for the best. Finn’s not as cool as the trailers and TV spots made him out to be. That lightsaber ain’t even his. I hope he gets better treatment in VIII.

      • January 9, 2016 at 11:06 pm
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        did we watch the same trailers? i don’t think he said a word in any of them, he was just huffing and puffing and sweating the whole time. 😉

        • January 9, 2016 at 11:34 pm
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          Ha ha. I meant the later ones, genius. ;P

          • January 10, 2016 at 2:05 am
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            He said some in the TV spots.

      • January 10, 2016 at 11:07 am
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        You know, I actually concur with this one. Finn has this really good dialogue with Poe and with BB-8 but a bit lackluster with Rey and Han IMHO. The dialogue we got of Finn in the trailer, very little btw, painted him to be this very gruff, stoic character in a moral crisis. Most of the movie he plays the straight.
        Finn’s best dialogue is in the TIE fighter with Poe. Again, IMHO.

  • January 10, 2016 at 12:16 am
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    Now, is probably not a great time to open a movie in China.

    • January 10, 2016 at 1:25 am
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      Why not?

      • January 10, 2016 at 10:59 am
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        Economic crisis.

        • January 10, 2016 at 10:22 pm
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          Ah, that’s true. Poor TFA. There’s been a lot of deflation overseas, to the point that in certain countries, TFa is making half of what Avatar made despite similar attendance and number of tickets sold.

  • January 10, 2016 at 12:37 am
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    Losing steam… ah well. Let’s hope it at least reaches 2 billion before it’s all said and done.

  • January 10, 2016 at 4:39 am
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    The most successful movie in both the UK, and the US. Almost the most successful opening day-gross in China. Still very possible to overtake Avatar. Especially if the movie is still playing in theatres come February.

    • January 10, 2016 at 7:32 am
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      Maybe. However, at this point it will be a slow, painful crawl to first place.

      • January 10, 2016 at 4:33 pm
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        It’s a marathon, not a sprint.

        • January 10, 2016 at 10:21 pm
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          That’s true. But with the week-to-week drops that TFA is experiencing (normal for a front-loaded blockbuster), I don’t think TFa has a realistic chance at winning that marathon.

    • January 10, 2016 at 7:05 pm
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      Let’s see how Avatar 2, 3 and 4 will do in the coming years. Keep in
      mind TFA is the 7th Star Wars film, so a certain degree of “franchise
      fatigue” could be expected. Avatar on the other hand had a strong
      element of novelty when it was released.

      Having said that, to be fair, TFA didn’t suffer from franchise fatigue though, mostly because it’s been a while since ROTS was out and the new
      writing/production/direction and acting teams, Disney’s efficient
      marketing campaign and the professional reviews convinced most fans and casual viewers alike that TFA would be better than the PT, which actually proved to be true later.

      • January 10, 2016 at 7:39 pm
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        It’s about perspective. TFA is rather special in being the 7th movie of a franchise which was both commercially and critically very well received. Few blockbusters are capable of this. It’s still holding pretty strong at the box office.

        Avatar for me for was a great cinematic experience. Really enjoyed watching it in 3D on the big screen. However, I never felt the urge to see it more than once in the theatre. I’ve tried to watch it again on the small screen and can not make through the whole movie. Contrast that with TFA that I’ve already seen 5 times.

        I’m very sceptic that the Avatar sequels will repeat the success of the original. Then again, it would be unwise to write-off James Cameron.

        • January 11, 2016 at 1:21 am
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          I saw Avatar more than once on the big screen, but, like you, I was more interested in the cinematic experience the movie provided rather than in the plot per se. The story itself is the quintessential tale of an indigenous people fighting technologically more advanced invaders, which has been seen over and over again in human history and is hardly new.

          An interesting twist though was that, while the Humans on Avatar have a technological advantage, that is partly offset by the Na’vi having a biological advantage, not only because they are bigger, stronger, have almost unbreakable bones and do not a mask and an oxygen tank to breathe, but also mostly because of their symbiotic relation with Pandora’s non-sentient fauna and, especially with Pandora’s (seemingly) sentient central biological computer/neural network , which is ultimately what enables them to beat the Humans.

          Intuitively, as part of a technological civilization, we tend to assume that technology always overcomes nature . As stated above, JC< however, wrote Avatar from the reverse point of view where a biological/natural advantage overcomes technological superiority.

          • January 11, 2016 at 3:50 am
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            Good points. The War of the Worlds was another good example of this, where a technologically superior force was defeated biologically.

  • January 10, 2016 at 6:41 am
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    To digress from the subject slightly; I take back my “Japan pushed Rey in the posters because their slightly maybe a touch racist” comment from a few months back.
    Now I realize, they didn’t downplay Finn because of his skintone, they downplayed him because they didn’t want to mislead the audience into thinking he’s THE main character.
    Japanese films and T.V. are not big on surprises, or the unexpected. When something weird pops up, it is hinted to and slowly built to. The audience goes into a big reveal primed to not be THAT shocked.
    This is not so much a comment on the japanese people as it is on the marketing executives.
    Japanese commercials and trailers have a really, really bad habit of giving away the ending in the trailer.
    American marketing is always about the reveal, the mystery of not knowing what’s up next [good marketing does this, NOT the Terminator marketing team].
    So for me, I enjoyed being surprised just HOW important Rey turns out to be, I legitimately thought Finn would be the Jedi.

    That’s why Rey was front and center in all the japanese marketing, was because she actually IS the main character, and the marketing team wanted to simplify the Finn-red herring for the audience.

    Off topic, but I just felt like putting this somewhere.

    • January 10, 2016 at 9:12 pm
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      You know whats funny? In America I had no idea Rey would actually be the main character, I thought it’d be Poe. I then saw the film on release date in America and then went to Japan the next day to visit friends and family.

      I spoke to my friends in Japan about seeing it and they immediately talked about Rey being the main character even though they haven’t seen the movie yet, was a surprise.

      You’re completely right about that analysis of yours, their commercials and stuff give it away!

  • January 10, 2016 at 12:25 pm
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    Does anyone know if the asian versions are dubbed or subbed? I would really watch a chinese or japanese star wars. But if Im not mistaken the previous movies were only subbed in asia.

  • January 10, 2016 at 12:47 pm
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    I still can’t believe how racist it is for China to miniturize Finn in the poster….

    • January 10, 2016 at 3:00 pm
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      And they got rid of Maz and Chewie…. not very nice

      • January 10, 2016 at 4:49 pm
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        Shame, because in my eyes, Maz is the NEW Han Solo.
        Wiser helper with an attitude they meet in a space-bar.
        I cannot wait to see that Grandma rip the guys who trashed her business a new one… Chewie+Maz would make a great team.

    • January 10, 2016 at 4:47 pm
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      Oh yeah, I didn’t even notice that. You know what, I take back my taking back of my “asian marketing is slightly racist” comment.

  • January 10, 2016 at 2:47 pm
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    Here is a question: How many years do you think the timeskip between TFA and EVIII will be? My bet is 5 years and here are the reasons why

    1) 5 years is enough time for both Kylo and Rey to achieve their analogous potentials via training with their respective masters.

    2) Rey’s heartbreaking goodbye to Finn indicates that it will take a long time for them to see each other again. She knows she embarks on a journey that will take even years and who knows what she might end up discovering.

    3) Both the First Order and the New Republic have taken serious damage, both have lost their arsenals and their power bases. It will take time for both to recover from their losses and 5 years seems about right.

    4) Finn’s character ended up to be the most undeveloped one and we need to see him in a new role, probably as a cyberneticly enhanced resistance lieutenant. It will be an interesting shift in his character and he is bound to be more grumpy and more against lighstabers and the Force. I suspect he will have a mistrusting relationship with Rey and he will fear her, especially if they haven’t seen each other for quite a while, say 5 years?

    5) Captain Phasma was the most underused character ever created in a sci-fi film. The promotion and reception of her character though were both amazing, hence the new movie must set her up as a more high ranking officer but also diving into the battlefield for some skull-breaking. 5 years is enought time for a promotion even after a career blunder like Starkiller base blowing up, right?

    6) Snoke’s master plan and endgame are for the long run. To reach that point a minimum timeskip of 5 years is needed so the new film has actual plot in that aspect. To make his move, Snoke needs his 5 years.

    7) Not doing a timeskip means that we have Rey stuck to an island with an old man, possibly her father and while the lore lovers can have multiple orgasms at the thought of many many scenes where things like talking Force ghosts and ancient ruins and artifacts granting power are developed, remember this will be a movie, the one media which does not have time to do that stuff but in the most tiniest and subtle of portions. Seeing Rey training, while it would be something amazing, it would only bore most fans and ruin the first hour of the film. The main protagonist has to be active. So I think a timeskip will not only make plot sense but movie sense. We need a Jedi Knight.
    Same goes for Kylo Ren. A scene with him being bestowed the title of Sith Lord by Snoke at the begining of E8 is so much more amazing than having him meditate in front of a mummfied Marka Ragnos. We need a Sith.

    8) Seeing Rey as a young but still not completely refined Jedi Knight (much like Luke in ROJ) will be an amazing and awe- inspiring evolution for the character and Daisy who will have to find new ways to portray that development. Also, we get to see her wielding her own lightsaber which I think will be a yellow saberstaff or a purple saberstaff. Same goes for Kylo Ren who will now be under a new title I suppose.

    9) TFA left us with so many questions that only pile on top of one another. To answer them one by one we need 2 seperate films. We only get 2 in total. TFA’s major questions will be answered indirectly in E 8 because of the timeskip, thus saving time for more action and more important stuff to have their screentime. 5 years is an ideal development time for things from TFA to still show as answered yet close enough to make sense and satisfy burning curiosities.

    10) The Resistance in the brick of total anihilation from an emerging and empowered Kylo Ren, suddenlly calling Rey to join the fight in a “final decisive battle” (which of course will not be the case as there will be many more battles to fight) is the perfect way to start the new movie as we will get to see immediately how much both protagonists have grown and what drives them to clash so fiercely. Remember, chances are that Kylo will be ready to wreak havoc much faster than Rey who is a complete novice in the Force. Kylo will start his damage-doing after 2 years in his training while Rey will need 3 more and in those 3 years Kylo will have brought the Resistance to its knees. That’s the point where Finn and Leia will ask for Luke’s and Rey’s help. It makes sense that way.

    Ok, what do you guys think?

    • January 10, 2016 at 3:47 pm
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      Five years seems a bit to much, primarily because of the actors and their age, I’d say more like three. You make some interesting points though. Firstly I don’t reckon Kylo Ren and Snoke are necessarily Sith, they are just users of the dark side, also giving Kylo Ren a THIRD name may confuse the audience. Secondly I would like to see their training as it adds character development. Also instead of a grand battle I’d love to see the first order and the resistance having small skirmishes (in which Poe and Finn are part of the main focus) and save the big space battle for IX. Lastly I would love a fight between Kylo, Snoke, Luke and Rey on Tattoiene back where it all started at the climax of IX.

      • January 10, 2016 at 4:10 pm
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        I agree with you on the time skip. Except probably only 1 or 2 years. Because as you said… they don’t want to age these characters to much. I’d even wager Disney wants to use their young actors for longer. Meaning I wouldn’t be surprised to see episode X, XI and XII with them.

        • January 10, 2016 at 5:59 pm
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          Me neither, but depends who came out alive, i can See Rey becoming the “Luke” for the SST

    • January 10, 2016 at 4:45 pm
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      Sounds good, though ONE training scene would be good. Bear in mind, it takes a long time to Master the force, meaning even old Jedis are in a constant state of training and self-improvement.
      So to have an advanced-level Rey in one of her last Jedi classes with Luke, where he’s showing her the last, most difficult stuff to master, is entirely called for. But just one scene would do. Just one.
      Every other point besides the Knights who say Ren being non-Sith and your misspelling of “brink”, I agree with your proposition.

      • January 11, 2016 at 11:03 am
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        Oh, sorry English is not my first language and when scanning for errors I must have missed it, thanks.

    • January 10, 2016 at 6:55 pm
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      I doubt the time skip will be 5 years as the actors playing the main characters haven’t aged that much between the shootings of the two films (which, I guess, will be about 1-2 years apart only ?).

      • January 11, 2016 at 9:50 am
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        Even if it was 5 years, adult people don’t typically age much unless they are going thru some health issue.

    • January 10, 2016 at 9:21 pm
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      Five years seems too much. You could be right. I would think maybe two, or three? With the FO combing that section of the galaxy searching like crazy to find them.

      • January 11, 2016 at 9:49 am
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        How long was Luke training on Dagobah? Not all that long.

        • January 11, 2016 at 12:19 pm
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          About 2 days max given it occurs over the same period that Han & Leia escape from the empire to cloud city. Always seemed like a massive plot hole in ESB to me – glossed over with a montage!

          • January 11, 2016 at 12:59 pm
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            Wait a min, the original films are immune from plot holes! 😉

          • January 11, 2016 at 5:43 pm
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            Me too. I still ask myself when watching Empire “how did Luke get so good in 2 days of training?” When Luke says “but ive learned so much..” I always wonder ‘how’? LOL, oh well the movie is so good you over look the few plot holes.

          • January 12, 2016 at 6:02 am
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            I always thought that it was 1-2 weeks. Han seems to think Bespin is right on the edge of the crippled Falcon’s capabilities. Meanwhile Luke’s clothes are getting pretty jacked up from the swamp. Of cours, his hair-care gear must still be working… Anyway, Han & Leia seem to be in cloud city for a day or so before Luke gets his final vision and leaves.

    • January 10, 2016 at 10:29 pm
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      I think (hope) it’s going to be more like 5 seconds. personally, I’d like to see how Luke & Rey react to each other. She’s not a typical student & he’s probably not going to be a traditional “master” figure in the vein of Ben or Yoda. Chewy & R2 are with Rey so the potential for a cool story is high. Meanwhile Fin & Poe are probably off tackling something else. That is, until both groups meet to take on…

      • January 11, 2016 at 10:00 pm
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        An impossibility, unfortuantely since the oppening crawl always forces the first scene to make a far more considerable timejump than 5 secs.

        • January 12, 2016 at 5:55 am
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          Why not? The movies seem to jump anywhere from under a year to nearly 20. Who’s to say the next one doesn’t start much closer to the end of the last one? They could def. fill a crawl with the state of the galaxy post FA.

          • January 12, 2016 at 2:07 pm
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            Yeah, but it would be much less rewarding and would not intrigue the fans nor the audience that much. Having “different” charactes than the ones we got in TFA will get us wondering how they became the way they are. I want a more solemn and daker and battle-hardened Finn. I want a Rey talking like the time the Force surged through her and guided her to mindtirck the Stormtrooper. I want Hux with a grand strategy of his own and not bickering with Ren who I want now to be a merciless Sith, a true psychopath. I want different characters to sum it up. And that is my bet, the direction I believe and hope E8 will take. If they want to make the new characters more compelling and mysterious and interesting to watch they have to make them so much different than what we saw in TFA. This is not the 80’s when slow montage and endless scenes worked for the audience, slow pace has died. So yes, my bet is 5 years timeskip so we get the same characters but battle- hardened and with plans of their own. I want to see character evolution which cannot happen with say a 2 year skip, not with the characters we got in TFA.

          • January 12, 2016 at 5:25 pm
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            Ah, I see. I like the characters, I thought they were a compelling bunch. I don’t need them to be fixed by the next installment. I’d like to see them evolve as their story continues. Even if the story jump ahead a year, I would want to see these characters again, not the more simplified version you’ve described. Kylo’s conflict makes him an interesting vilian. Turning into a merciless psychopath would be less mysterious because we know how that kind of character will behave. Same thing goes for the heroes. IMO, their idiosyncrasies give the writers more room to tell a good story.

            The 70’s & 80’s movies, were never about montages or endless scenes. They moved very quickly, especially before the later re-edits. I’m not sure What that has to do with a shorter interval between movies, but I agree that the next movie shouldn’t slow down. I hope the editing remains tight. I can’t imagine that they plan change the pacing of the films back to the PT style. These movies are clearly rooted on the look & feel of the original trilogy.

    • January 11, 2016 at 2:40 am
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      My thoughts:

      1. Timeline is 1 – 1 1/2 years after TFA. Pretty much realtime
      2. Finn and Rey will share screen time again in the 3rd act
      3. The Republic has pretty much been annihilated. The First Order most likely has forces on other planets, as we don’t know which planet Snoke is on
      4. Finn will be more interesting in Episode VIII, and it sounds like he will have a new love interest
      5. I want to see her fire her blaster
      6. Snoke’s masterplan will be revealed in Episode IX
      7. Episode VIII’s 1st act will be the completion of Rey’s training, with backstory dialogue.
      8. Rey and Luke will most likely fight side-by-side, hopefully against the Knights of Ren
      9. The most import unanswered questions will be covered over the trilogy
      10. The Resistance will be on the back foot, like Empire

      • January 11, 2016 at 2:53 am
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        I don’t think we should assume Finn wil have a “new love interest” just because of rumors that whoever is being cast for the new role had to go through “chemistry tests” with John Boyega. Finn and Poe have “chemistry”, but they are not in love, are they ? I know some fans THINK they are, but let’s just leave it here !

        Anyway, my impression from Episode VII, including the novelization and the official script, is that Finn is in love with Rey (and, probably, vice-versa, although Rey did “abandon” a comatose Finn to go to Luke). I don’t think those feelings will just “disappear” in Episode VIII (at least, certainly not on Finn’s part) , even though it is possible that Finn and Rey might be physically apart for a sizeable portion of the movie..

        • January 11, 2016 at 3:18 am
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          I never got the impression that Rey and Finn were anything more than platonic. I’ve not read the novel, so I don’t know if there is anything there that implies otherwise. Plus with Rey now on the fast track to becoming a Jedi, I can’t see her being distracted with a romantic interest.

      • January 11, 2016 at 9:47 am
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        Just the government offices, it’s like if someone blew up Washington DC here. The gov’t would still exist.

    • January 11, 2016 at 5:45 am
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      After Rey’s ridiculous demonstration of Force abilities, I want to SEE her get trained by Luke. I also want to see Kylo Ren complete his training and Finn actually learn some new skills/grow in competency.

      5 years is way too long for a film that’ll only be here in 500 days. Each OT film skipped 3 years tops.

    • January 11, 2016 at 11:05 am
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      Nah, it will be a couple of seconds. Luke receiving the lightsaber from Rey. New scenes have been shot on Skellig Michael, and why would Luke stay on this small Island for another 5 years?

    • January 11, 2016 at 11:29 am
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      First of all thanks for all your comments.

      Darth Mickey —> I don’t think a couple of seconds, no. That final scene was too powerful and it would make sense not to suddenly dethrone it via a one-second-later shot. It wouldn’t make directing sense. The fact that we have Skelling scenes doesn’t necessarily mean that they are of Rey training. It could be very well Luke sending off Rey to help the Resistance and Rey returning again at the end of Episode 8 to brief him on her new adventures and their results.

      AuDiOsAnE —> Her abilities were nothing exceptional if you think about it. Jedi mind tricks are common and she must have seen other Jedi in training performing them when she was little and in training in Luke’s academy or performed some herself. In Rebels young Ezra is trained in midfticking lothal cats for example. Also, even if she never received training, remember Obi’s teaachings: The Force controls your actions but it also obeys your commands. The moment Rey flew the Falcon on Jakku the Force Awakened in her, otherwise she couldn’t have done those crazy stunts. Jedi have extraordinary reflexes because they can see things before they happen, that’s how Rey was such a good pilot, like Anakin in the podracer. When the Falcon was safe she celebrates with Finn who asks her” how can you fly so good? How did you do it?”and she replies “I don’t know, I’ve never flew out of the planet before!” It’s clear that the Force helped her just as it did when she mindtricked the Stormtrooper to let her loose. It was even visually obvious: After 2 failed attempts we hear the Force trembing through the air and Rey’s vision becomes focused and her voice becomes clear, calm and demanding as if some sort of demon had taken over her body and spoke for her. Really awesome and scary if you think about it. One second she is a frightened girl with a trembling voice and panic in her mind, adrenalines surging and then she suddenly changes, that’s the Force controlling her actions.

      Kenny Ritchie —> About no.4, naother love interest seems unlikely, no.5 Why would a Jedi in training need a blaster? Better of excercising her saber skills during the entire movie! no.6 Yes, I meant part of his plan has to emerge for the movie to have actual plot 7. I hope so, I want to see her being bestowed the title “Jedi Knight” at the same time as Kylo gets his “Dark Lord of the Sith”, that would be an awesome scene by the way. no.8 Yes, my fondest hope as well.

      Matthew McMaster —> True, “Darth Kylo Ren” is overkill and renaming the character entirely would be a waste of a somewhat cool name. I don’t know I think however that they will both be representatives of the Light and Dark and for that we need them at their best in both names and tricks.

    • January 11, 2016 at 4:16 pm
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      5 years probably is too much, but you could be right.
      I think it will be like 1-3 years but i really want to see this “strange days” for every one after TFA. I’m really interested in see that period.
      With First Order and Resistence with serious problems, Rey’s training, Ren’s doubts and some little chaos in the Galaxy after the destroy of the Republic, it could be a really dark and more personal movie,
      We just have seen TFA and we are already speculating about next chapter!
      That’s fantastic!! I really enjoyed the past 2 years. This long ride will have soooo much fun!

      • January 12, 2016 at 1:52 pm
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        Oh, yes, it’s so much more rewarding to talk about SW now that we have actual new material! I used to comment on the PT and never had so much fun as now. The fact that we don’t know what will happen sicne there is no OT that tells us the end of the story is sooooooo good,. What a great day and age to be a SW fan!

        I however disagree, I believe that the timeskip will be 5 years. Remember the movie has to make sense in a way that it intrigues the audience. Having Rey as a trained Jedi with lots of experience in missions with her master, Luke, ready for combat against Kylo makes so much more sense than us seeing her train. Don’t get me wrong, I would have loved to see that happening but then you got Boyega saying that MINOR SPOILER in the new movie his role will be much more physical.

        His spine was destoryed and he went into coma. Of course in a Galaxy far far away there is nothing that cannot be cured but having him running around even more than in TFA? The timeskip has to be greater than 2 years for that to happen and I want him different, more solemn, more authortitative and less naive and funny, I want a serious Finn.

        Also I want a different Rey than the one I saw (and thoroughly enjoyed) in TFA. I want her to be a humorus but solemn JK, much like Kira in SWTOR or even the main JK character if played LS. That would be such an interesting development for me. I almost want her to be like when the Force surged through her and guided her to indeed mindtrick the Stormtrooper into freeing her. Do you remember how she was and how she sounded? That was AWESOME I want that all the time. But for such a great change more than 2 years are needed, that’s my bet.

        And this doesn’t jsut go for Rey, they all need 5 years to properly develop. Hux and Ren childishly bickering about Snoke’s favor? I don’t want that anymore. Phasma not doing anything and proving to be a novice herself in the end by being forced to lower the shields? No more of that! They all need their 5 years imo.

  • January 10, 2016 at 7:16 pm
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    Well, if they counted all the pirated copies people were probably watching, I’m sure the total would be much much higher. lol

    • January 10, 2016 at 10:17 pm
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      Exactly. that’s why Episode VIII will benefit from the May release; it’ll be able to drop day and date in China.

  • January 11, 2016 at 1:29 am
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    After my 4th viewing i noticed something. It was my first english version of TFA so i i’m not sure about that.
    I don’t want upset prequel lovers 😉 I just want to know if someone else heard something similar. 😛
    It was in Jakku market, with stormtroopers behind Rey and Finn. Fire, tie fighters, humans and aliens running, screaming. and voices on the background like with Rey’s first steps in the castle.
    And then it was like hearing some voice saying: “Kill Jar Jar”.
    We have heard so many times J.J. didn’t like Jar Jar. Or probably he was playing with his name with a second meaning? “Kill Jei Jei”
    If someone is planning to see it again, listen carefully.
    Silly post, i know, ;P but would be funny if someone heart it. If not, probably i’m crazy 😉

    • January 11, 2016 at 1:45 am
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      There is no such line on the official script sent to the WGA and I don’t recall ever hearing it. I’m afraid you might have imagined it.

      • January 11, 2016 at 1:46 am
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        Probably you’re right 😉

      • January 11, 2016 at 2:04 am
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        Background noises don’t have to be in the script though. It could have been JJ slipping it in as a joke. I’ll have to listen out for it!

        • January 11, 2016 at 8:17 am
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          That’s what i thought.
          Hope you hear something 😉

    • January 11, 2016 at 11:00 am
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      I’ve always been curious as how anyone can ‘enjoy’ watching a movie in any other language than the original language (except for children’s cartoons, targeted at small children). To me (as being Dutch) it feels like repainting clothes on a Rembrandt to match the clothing style of the local population of the period the painting was made … just so people would feel more familiar with it.

      • January 11, 2016 at 2:59 pm
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        I have been watching films in original version for a long time but i really enjoyed 80’s (and 90’s, yes) movies in my early years in spanish/catalan versions. Indiana Jones, The Goonies, Star Wars, Groundhog day, to say few ones, had a really good and charismatic dub versions.
        We can’t compare it’s true, that’s why i enjoy so much movies in its original version, appreciating the good work in actors.
        But there are really good dub versions of a movie or tv-series. “Sometimes”, and its curious, a dub version ” completes” a character with a voice that probably doesn’t fit quite well. But it’s rare, i know it.
        Normally, the first version you see a movie marks the rest of viewings.
        Not everyone have high english levels to appreciate a movie in english(specially in Spain), and people seems too lazy to read subtitles. That’s educational. We have to show our kids how appreciate art in its original form.
        The TFA dub version worried me, of course, specially after seing trailers, because original versions were so great. My friends wanted to see it in dub version cause a few ones wanted in english and appreciatte the visual aspect. But i have to admit they did a really good job. I enjoyed all Star Wars in dub versions as a kid. It was fun to have a good dub version of TFA. I really loved the movie.
        After seing it in english i really appreciate all actors, from the incredible Daisy, John, Oscar, Harrison, to Adam and Domnhall. An amazing cast. Absolutely all of them.
        Dub version had powerful moments, but overall in english was just amazing.
        Next time will be in english too.

      • January 11, 2016 at 5:32 pm
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        Sometimes it’s better (The Simpsons in Czech are much funnier, same goes for a lot of animated films such as Up that is absolutely hilarious in it) but with regular films it feels like your Rembrandt remark, it’s just not it. Unfortunately, you don’t always manage to get the film in the original language – never on the TV, they always dubb it and don’t even offer the possibility to switch it to the original sound 🙁 You usually have a choice in the cinema (except for children’s films) but still there are more dubbed than subbed screenings… When the dubbing is done well enough, you at least get to enjoy the film and it doesn’t really disturb -The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, Harry Potter films, all of these have incredibly good voice actors cast and I can most certainly enjoy them dubbed even though I prefer the originals – but then you have the dubbing ruin the film completely (Hunger Games for example, never again).
        I haven’t seen Star Wars dubbed but the older films tend to have a very good dubbing, so I’d say the original trilogy shall be watchable, the prequels on the other hand… I might try it to see if they managed to improve the acting and made Jar Jar a little less awful (which I doubt) or if they made it even more terrible. I shall see.

  • January 11, 2016 at 2:22 am
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    I bet Ken Leuong had his own character poster over there

  • January 11, 2016 at 2:32 am
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    This movie made a Chinese Saturday opening record because no Hollywood blockbuster has opened in China on a Saturday before. Furious 7 made more in its opening Sunday than Force made in two days. Although I wish TFA could be bigger in China (and with good enough legs, it still could be), it seems that it won’t pull in north of $200 million. However, it is a solid start for a franchise that is pretty new to China.

  • January 11, 2016 at 2:35 am
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    you get a record. you get a record. you get a record…

  • January 11, 2016 at 2:50 am
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    I know how it made so much in China….

    • January 11, 2016 at 3:18 am
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      add kanjaklub to that and its perfect. 🙂

    • January 11, 2016 at 10:26 am
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      Nah. They just made Finn smaller in the poster 🙁

      • January 11, 2016 at 4:38 pm
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        The film did a fine job doing that on its own.

  • January 11, 2016 at 4:44 am
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    You have to stop saying “when not accounting for inflation.” If not, when gone with the wind is stated as the highest grossing film when accounting for inflation, you’ll have to say “when not accounting for DVD/bluray, digital, pirated material, and a vast array of competition in the form of thousands of television channels, online content, and videos games.”

    • January 11, 2016 at 6:43 am
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      “And a 4-year long original theatrical run further supported by nearly ten theatrical re-releases over a period of 60 years.”

    • January 11, 2016 at 9:43 am
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      Gone with the wind as with mostl of the top 10 adjusted for inflation. Had several decades of no video release, or and TV channel selection was tiny compared to now. Movies make a lot of money on home video these days. Wasn’t true in the past. If you didn’t see it in the theater back in the day, you didn’t know when you’d see it. Now pretty much all films go to home video heaven within 6 months.

    • January 11, 2016 at 11:46 am
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      Yeah the real argument is simply… Star Wars is better than Avatar. The end. 😉

      • January 11, 2016 at 12:50 pm
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        Most things are better than Avatar, I’ll take Gone with The Wind any day

  • January 11, 2016 at 5:55 pm
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    Cool. Maybe now Disney can make Finn a couple of centimetres bigger on the next poster.

  • January 12, 2016 at 9:43 pm
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    It’s well known that China’s Government has no love for black people but Latin men too?

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