The buzz swirling aroundStar Wars: The Force Awakenshas been insanely high ever since the project was first announced way back in October 2012, after Disney purchasedLucasFilm. With a new trailer arriving sometime this fall, the buzz will only keep growing, with some box office analysts already predicting huge opening weekend numbers months before the sequel hits theaters on December 18.Deadlinereports that some analysts are predicting a $615 million worldwide opening weekend, which would shatter a box office record that was just set a few months ago.
Universal Pictures’Jurassic Worldbroke a number ofbox officerecords back in June, taking in $208.8 million domestically and $315.3 million internationally in its opening weekend, for a worldwide haul of $524.4 million. All three of those figures set new records, but if these new predictions aboutStar Wars: The Force Awakensare accurate, those records may not stand for long.Jurassic Worldwas the first movie ever to earn over $500 million worldwide in its opening weekend, but if these predictions hold up,Star Wars: The Force Awakenswill be the first to crack $600 million in one weekend.
These insiders are predicting thatStar Wars: The Force Awakenswill earn approximately $300 million domestically and $315 internationally on its opening weekend December 18. Some analysts predict that, in any given theater with 20 screens,Star Wars: The Force Awakenswill be playing on 10 of them. We already reported that the sci-fi adventure will be completely taking over allIMAXtheaters for an entire month. The film is expected to play in more than 4,000 theaters and at least 10,000 screens during its stateside debut.
It will debut in every international territory except China, which imposes a blackout of Hollywood films every December, so it will likely open in the country sometime in January. The $615 million projection is even more impressive, if it comes true, since that wouldn’t include China, one of the largest markets in the world. It’s possible it could also breakThe Twilight Saga: Eclipse’s five-year record for widest release ever, with 4,468 theaters, but we likely won’t know the exact theater count until early December.Jurassic Worldopened in a total of 23,886 theaters globally in its opening weekend, which included China, with Universal’s other $1 billion release this year,Furious 7, opening in 14,687 screens, which didn’t include China.
The question that remains is canStar Wars: The Force Awakensdethrone the current all-time box office champion,Avatar? A massive $615 million global opening would certainly help, but the movie will need to continually put up impressive numbers week after week to topAvatar’s $760.5 million domestic record and its $2.78 billion worldwide record. The blockbuster played in theaters for 34 weeks, a lengthy run which hardly ever happens these days, landing in the top 10 at the box office in its first 14 weeks. By comparison,Jurassic Worldhas been in theaters for 11 weeks, but it dropped out of the top 10 after eight weekends. IfStar Wars: The Force Awakenshas any chance at beatingAvatar, it not only needs to open big, but also play the long game in theaters. Do you thinkStar Wars: The Force Awakenswill shatter box office records left and right when it hits theaters in December?
