J. J. Abrams (left) was noted for his direction, Daisy Ridley (center) and John Boyega (right) for their portrayal of Rey and Finn, respectively. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Totals | 28 | 95 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
References |
Star Wars: The Force Awakens is a 2015 epic space opera film directed, co-produced, and co-written by J. J. Abrams. The seventh installment in the main Star Wars film series, and first of three in Star Wars sequel trilogy. It stars Harrison Ford,[1] Mark Hamill,[2] Carrie Fisher,[3] Adam Driver,[4] Daisy Ridley,[5] John Boyega,[6] Oscar Isaac,[7] Lupita Nyong'o,[8] Andy Serkis,[9] Domhnall Gleeson,[10] Anthony Daniels,[11] Peter Mayhew,[12] and Max von Sydow.[13] The Force Awakens is set 30 years after Return of the Jedi; it follows Rey, Finn, and Poe Dameron's search for Luke Skywalker and their fight alongside the Resistance, led by veterans of the Rebel Alliance, against Kylo Ren and the First Order, a successor group to the Galactic Empire.[14][15]
The Force Awakens was premiered by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures in Los Angeles on December 14, and was released in United States and Canada on December 18, 2015. The Force Awakens opened across 14,300 theaters,[16][17] breaking numerous box-office records becoming the first film to earn more than $100 million worldwide in a single day.[18] The Force Awakens grossed a worldwide total of over $2 billion on a production budget of $306 million and was the highest-grossing release of 2015, and became fastest film to earn $1 billion worldwide,[19] doing so in twelve-days.[20][21] It became the third film in history to surpass $2 billion worldwide (after Avatar and Titanic), doing so on its 53rd day of release.[22]
Rotten Tomatoes, a review aggregator, surveyed 360 reviews and judged 92 percent to be positive.[23] The Force Awakens garnered many awards and nominations in a variety of categories with particular praise for Abrams' direction, its action sequences, visual effects, editing and Ridley's and Boyega's performances.[24] Several awards held their nominations before the December release of The Force Awakens, making the film ineligible for the 73rd Golden Globe Awards and some other awards ceremonies.[25] However, the film was added to the 21st Critics' Choice Awards's slate of best picture nominees after a special vote by the board of directors,[26] and the announcement of the 2015 American Film Institute Awards was delayed until after the release of film,[25] where it was named one of Top Ten Films of the year.[27]
The Force Awakens received five nominations at the 88th Academy Awards as Best Original Score, Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, Best Film Editing and Best Visual Effects. The film garnered four nominations at 69th British Academy Film Awards, and won for Best Special Visual Effects and a special BAFTA Rising Star Award for John Boyega. At the 21st Empire Awards, the film received nine nominations and won five including Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy Film, and Best Director for J.J. Abrams. The Force Awakens became the most nominated film in Saturn Awards history with total of thirteen nominations at 42nd Saturn Awards and won eight including Best Science Fiction Film, Best Director and Best Special Effects. The film received seven Visual Effects Society Awards nominations, winning four including Outstanding Visual Effects in an Effects Driven Feature Motion Picture. Star Wars: The Force Awakens received eleven nominations at MTV Movie Awards, the most for the ceremony and won three including Movie of the Year.