{"id":6866,"date":"2015-12-21T09:00:56","date_gmt":"2015-12-21T17:00:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/spijue.wpengine.com\/news\/star-wars-blasts-opening-weekend-record\/"},"modified":"2015-12-21T09:00:56","modified_gmt":"2015-12-21T17:00:56","slug":"star-wars-blasts-opening-weekend-record","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/news\/star-wars-blasts-opening-weekend-record\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Star Wars’ blasts opening weekend record"},"content":{"rendered":"

LOS ANGELES \u2014<\/strong> To say that the force is strong with this one is an understatement.<\/p>\n

\u201cStar Wars: The Force Awakens\u201d brought in a galactic $238 million over the weekend, making it the biggest North American debut of all time according to studio estimates on Sunday.<\/p>\n

The Walt Disney Co. earnings destroy the previous opening record set by Universal\u2019s \u201cJurassic World,\u201d which drew $208.8 million this summer.<\/p>\n

Internationally, the film brought in $279 million, bringing its global gross to $517 million \u2014 second only to \u201cJurassic World\u2019s\u201d global bow of $525 million. But the dinosaurs had the added benefit of China \u2014 \u201cStar Wars\u201d won\u2019t open there until Jan. 9.<\/p>\n

This is just the latest in a laundry list of records set by J.J. Abrams\u2019 film, the seventh in the franchise. Analysts anticipated a debut anywhere from $150 million to $300 million.<\/p>\n

The \u201cX-factor\u201d was quality. While \u201cThe Force Awakens\u201d drew enormous pre-sales, the film was kept under lockdown from the press and critics until mere days before it was released to the public. Reviews turned out to be stellar (95 percent on Rotten Tomatoes), as did early audience reaction, who gave the film an A CinemaScore.<\/p>\n

Rentrak\u2019s Senior Media Analyst Paul Dergarabedian said that\u2019s the key element that may push the film to the $2 billion mark by the end of its run. Many are already going back for a second helping.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe enthusiasm has really turned into a cultural event,\u201d said Dave Hollis, Disney\u2019s executive vice president of theatrical distribution. \u201cIt\u2019s unbelievable.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt feels historic. The marketing team has embarked on a two-plus year journey to create this event feel,\u201d Hollis added. \u201cIt\u2019s hard to think you could replicate this, but never say never.\u201d<\/p>\n

Males overwhelmingly drove the astronomical earnings, comprising 58 percent of the audience.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany of the bigger films of the past few years have been driven by that often marginalized female audience,\u201d Dergarabedian said. \u201cThis proves that if you put the right film in the marketplace, the guys will show up in big numbers. You can still break records with one gender being the dominant one.\u201d<\/p>\n

He predicted that over time, Daisy Ridley\u2019s protagonist may help even the gender breakdown. Hollis agreed, noting that the breakdown evened out across the weekend too. Friday audiences were 63 percent male, he said.<\/p>\n

The film also drew mainly adults, who made up 71 percent of the audience. Teens accounted for only 9 percent, but those numbers may go up in the coming weeks as holiday vacations kick in.<\/p>\n

IMAX, 3D and other premium large format screens further helped drive the massive earnings. Nearly half of moviegoers \u2014 47 percent \u2014 chose to see the film on the generally pricier screens. IMAX screens alone accounted for $48 million of the global earnings.<\/p>\n

But \u201cStar Wars\u201d didn\u2019t fly alone this weekend. A few other movies attempted to provide some counterprogramming and ended up with comparatively decent results.<\/p>\n

Almost a galaxy away, Fox\u2019s animated \u201cAlvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip\u201d came in second with $14.4 million.<\/p>\n

According to exit polls, 70 percent of audiences were comprised of families. The film also played to a rather diverse audience of 22 percent Hispanics and 19 percent African-Americans.<\/p>\n

\u201cStarting on Monday, 73 percent of K through 12 is out of school. Why wouldn\u2019t we make our picture available?\u201d said Chris Aronson, Fox\u2019s president of domestic distribution as to why they released their film \u201cin the teeth of the hurricane.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2019Star Wars\u2019 is the phenomenon it is and will continue to be, but there is another segment of the audience out there,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

In third place, the Tina Fey and Amy Poehler comedy \u201cSisters\u201d earned an estimated $13.4 million out of the gates. A whopping 79 percent of audiences were female for the R-rated comedy \u2014 a solid indicator that the counterprogramming against \u201cStar Wars\u201d was in fact a wise choice.<\/p>\n

\u201cA healthy box office needs something for everyone,\u201d said Nick Carpou, Universal\u2019s president of domestic distribution, who expects a solid performance for the comedy in the weeks to come.<\/p>\n

Rounding out the top five were \u201cThe Hunger Games: Mockingjay \u2014 Part 2,\u201d with $5.7 million and \u201cCreed,\u201d with $5.1 million.<\/p>\n

This is the biggest overall weekend in box office history with combined grosses north of $300 million, putting 2015 in range of becoming the first $11 billion year in history.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re on the verge of a record-breaking year,\u201d Dergarabedian said. \u201cI think we\u2019re going to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

1. \u201cStar Wars: The Force Awakens,\u201d $238 million ($279 million international).<\/p>\n

2. \u201cAlvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip,\u201d $14.4 million.<\/p>\n

3. \u201cSisters,\u201d $13.4 million ($1.8 million international).<\/p>\n

4. \u201cThe Hunger Games: Mockingjay \u2014 Part 2,\u201d $5.7 million ($7.8 million international).<\/p>\n

5. \u201cCreed,\u201d $5.1 million.<\/p>\n

6. \u201cThe Good Dinosaur,\u201d $4.2 million ($9.2 million international).<\/p>\n

7. \u201cKrampus,\u201d $3.8 million ($1.8 million international).<\/p>\n

8. \u201cIn the Heart of the Sea,\u201d $3.5 million ($3.9 million international).<\/p>\n

9. \u201cDiwale,\u201d $1.9 million.<\/p>\n

10. \u201cBajirao Mastani,\u201d $1.7 million.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

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

1. \u201cStar Wars: The Force Awakens,\u201d $279 million.<\/p>\n

2. \u201cMojin: The Lost Legend,\u201d $85 million.<\/p>\n

3. \u201cSurprise \u2014 Journey to the West,\u201d $24 million.<\/p>\n

4. \u201cThe Good Dinosaur,\u201d $9.2 million.<\/p>\n

5. \u201cThe Himalayas,\u201d $8.5 million.<\/p>\n

6. \u201cThe Hunger Games: Mockingjay \u2014 Part 2,\u201d $7.8 million.<\/p>\n

7. \u201cSpectre,\u201d $6.5 million.<\/p>\n

8. \u201cBridge of Spies,\u201d $4.5 million.<\/p>\n

9. \u201cIn the Heart of the Sea\u201d and \u201cThe Tiger: An Old Hunter\u2019s Tale,\u201d 3.9 million.<\/p>\n

10. \u201cKrampus\u201d and \u201cSisters,\u201d $1.8 million.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Follow AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr on Twitter at: http:\/\/twitter.com\/ldbahr<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

LOS ANGELES \u2014 To say that the force is strong with this one is an understatement. \u201cStar Wars: The Force Awakens\u201d brought in a galactic $238 million over the weekend, making it the biggest North American debut of all time according to studio estimates on Sunday. The Walt Disney Co. earnings destroy the previous opening […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":107,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_stopmodifiedupdate":false,"_modified_date":"","wds_primary_category":4,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[65],"yst_prominent_words":[],"class_list":["post-6866","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-nation-world"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6866","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/107"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6866"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6866\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6866"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6866"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6866"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=6866"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}