Where will you be on December 18th? Well, if you’re one of the people that THR is reporting that picked up your ticket to "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" to the tune of over $50 million dollars in advance sales, you’ll be at your local multiplex, watching the next chapter in the saga unfold for the first or second time (as you might already know, screenings start on the evening of December 17th). So yes, opening weekend is going be huge. But how huge?
Well, that’s what prognosticators are trying to predict. Disney, of course, is trying to chill everyone out because they don’t want the box office hype to get so large that any opening that isn’t monumental is seen as a "disappointment." Currently, the record for biggest opening weekend in North America is held by "Jurassic World," which took in $208.8 million when it debuted this summer. The chatter now is that ‘Force Awakens’ could top it, with generous estimates predicting a $300 million debut. Apparently, there are "plenty of seats available" still for ‘The Force Awakens’ according to movie ticket sellers, but no word yet if that’s just front row or weird corners of the cinema where nobody wants to sit. But Disney will also have the extra hurdle of trying to lure moviegoers during the weekend before Christmas, when everyone is their last bit of shopping done, or possibly even starting to travel for the holidays.
Meanwhile, as the dollar and cents of ‘The Force Awakens’ is debated, so too is the fate of Luke Skywalker. Mark Hamill has already revealed he’s contractually obligated not to say a single word about the movie, or risk losing a significant payday. But he said what he could to Empire, which admittedly, isn’t much.
“Obviously you’re seeing him at a very different time in his life. There’s lots of surprises in this movie”, Hamill revealed. “You’re going to love it.” We’ll have to take your word for it.
Meanwhile, in the latest onslaught of ‘The Force Awakens’ advertising (seriously, even my breakfast cereal has a stormtrooper on it), C-3PO, R2-D2, and BB-8 meet in an ad for O2 Priority.