The Force Awakens premiered in Los Angeles on December 14, 2015, and was released on December 18, 2015, in 2D, 3D, and IMAX 3D, more than 10 years after the release of the franchise's last major installment, Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005). Critics compared it favorably to the original trilogy, praising its action sequences, characters, acting, and emotional drama, though some criticized it as derivative. Disney backed the film with an extensive marketing campaign, and it is expected to break box office records with projected profits exceeding $1 billion. Two sequels are scheduled for release in 2017 and 2019 respectively.
Plot
Approximately thirty years after the destruction of the second Death Star, Luke Skywalker, the last Jedi, has disappeared. Both the First Order, a successor to the fallen Galactic Empire, and the Resistance, a military force backed by the Republic and led by Luke's sister Leia Organa, scour the galaxy in an attempt to find him.
Resistance pilot Poe Dameron meets with village elder Lor San Tekka on the planet Jakku to obtain a map of Luke's location. Stormtroopers under the command of Kylo Ren infiltrate and destroy the village before capturing Poe. His droid, BB-8, escapes with the map hidden in his memory and comes across a scavenger named Rey at a junkyard settlement.
Ren tortures Poe to learn about BB-8. Stormtrooper FN-2187, who Poe dubs "Finn", helps Poe escape, repulsed by the First Order's cruelty. Poe and Finn's stolen TIE fighter crashes on Jakku, and Finn appears to be the only survivor. He encounters Rey and BB-8, but The First Order tracks them and launches an airstrike, forcing the three to steal a run-down ship, the Millennium Falcon, and flee the planet.
The Falcon breaks down, leaving them stranded. They are soon found by Han Solo and Chewbacca aboard a larger freighter. Han explains that Luke tried to rebuild the Jedi, but disappeared after his apprentice Kylo Ren turned to the Dark Side, destroying all that Luke had built. They are attacked by pirates and escape, but the pirates tell the First Order of Han’s involvement.
At Starkiller Base, a planet converted into a superweapon capable of destroying entire star systems, Ren is told by Supreme Leader Snoke that to overcome the call of the light, Ren must kill his father, Han Solo. The Falcon crew arrive at the planet Takodana and meet Maz Kanata, who can help BB-8 reach the Resistance, but Finn decides he would rather flee on his own. Rey is drawn to a vault and finds Anakin Skywalker's lightsaber. She receives a mysterious vision and recoils in horror, fleeing into the woods.
Under General Hux's orders, Starkiller Base destroys the Hosnian star system, seat of the Republic Senate. Tipped off to BB-8's location, the First Order arrives on Takodana. Han, Chewbacca, and Finn, who takes the lightsaber, are saved by a squadron of Resistance X-wing fighters led by Poe, but Rey is captured by Ren. Rey resists his attempts to extract the map from her mind and later escapes her cell with a Jedi mind trick. Han, Chewbacca, Finn, and BB-8 are brought to the Resistance base on D'Qar and reunited with Leia and the droids C-3PO and the dormant R2-D2, who has been inactive since Luke's disappearance.
Starkiller Base prepares to fire on D'Qar, and the Resistance devises a plan to lower the planetary shields so the fighters can attack the superweapon. Using the Falcon, Han, Chewbacca, and Finn infiltrate the base, regroup with Rey, and encounter Ren. Addressing him by his birth name, Ben, Han implores him to abandon the Dark Side, but Ren rejects and kills him. Chewbacca sets off the explosives, and Resistance X-wings attack the weapon, starting a chain reaction that will destroy Starkiller Base.
An injured Ren chases Finn and Rey onto the surface, where Finn tries to fight him using Anakin's lightsaber. When Finn is wounded, Rey takes the lightsaber and fights Ren, eventually overpowering him with the Force and severely wounding him before they are separated by a fissure. Snoke orders Hux to evacuate the base and bring the injured Ren to him. The heroes escape in the Falcon. On D'Qar, the Resistance celebrates their victory while Leia, Chewbacca, and Rey mourn Han's death. R2-D2 suddenly awakens and reveals the rest of the map. With R2-D2 and Chewbacca, Rey follows the map to an island on an ocean of a distant planet, where she finds Luke Skywalker and presents him with his father's lightsaber.
Harrison Ford as Han Solo.[8] Ford said Han "does not aspire to the position of Obi-Wan, nor do I aspire to be some New Age Alec Guinness. His development is consistent with the character, and there are emotional elements which have occasioned his growth ... There's a lot of the rogue still left in Solo. Some things don't change...".[9]
Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker.[8] Regarding Luke, Han and Leia, Abrams stated: "They'd be as old and as mythic as the tale of King Arthur. They would be characters who [the new characters] may have heard of, but maybe not. They'd be characters who they might believe existed, or just sounded like a fairy tale...".[10]
Carrie Fisher as General Leia Organa.[11] She is referred to as General Organa, rather than Princess Leia - and is shown to still be Force-sensitive.[12] After the events of Return of the Jedi, she is described as "a little more battle weary, a little more broken hearted."[13] Fisher described Leia as "solitary. Under a lot of pressure. Committed as ever to her cause, but I would imagine feeling somewhat defeated, tired, and pissed." Abrams said: "The stakes are pretty high in the story for her, so there's not much goofing around where Leia's concerned".[14]
Adam Driver[8] as Kylo Ren, a dark warrior strong with the Force, originally a member of the Knights of Ren, and commander of the First Order.[15][16] Driver said the team tried "not to think of him as being bad, or evil, or a villain. Something that was more three-dimensional. He’s more dangerous and unpredictable, and morally justified in doing what he thinks is right."[17]
Daisy Ridley as Rey,[8][18] a scavenger on the desert planet Jakku, who discovers that she is very Force-sensitive.[19] Ridley said: "She's completely self-sufficient and does everything for herself, until she meets [Finn] and an adventure begins."[19]
John Boyega as Finn,[8][18] a redeemed First Order stormtrooper.[19][20] Boyega said that he learned he obtained the part "over a nice breakfast in Mayfair" where Abrams told him: "John, you're the new star of Star Wars."[21] Boyega said: "When we find Finn, he's in incredible danger. And the way he reacts to this danger changes his life, and launches him into the Star Wars universe in a very unique way."[19] He said in another interview: "He's been taught about [Luke], he knows about his history. For him it's like joining the army and then learning about one of the great enemies of your country."[10]
Oscar Isaac as Poe Dameron,[8][18] a Resistance X-wing fighter pilot.[19][22] Isaac said: "He's the best freaking pilot in the galaxy... He's been sent on a mission by a certain princess, and he ends up coming up across [Finn], and their fates are forever intertwined."[19]
Lupita Nyong'o[23] as Maz Kanata, a pirate.[22] Nyong'o said Kanata has "lived over a thousand years. She's had this watering hole for about a century, and it's like another bar that you'd find in a corner of the Star Wars universe."[24]
Andy Serkis[8] as Supreme Leader Snoke,[25] Kylo Ren's master and a powerful figure of the dark side.[26] Serkis described Snoke as "quite an enigmatic character, and strangely vulnerable at the same time as being quite powerful... He is large. He appears tall. And also just the facial design – you couldn't have gotten there with prosthetics... Without giving too much away at this point, he has a very distinctive, idiosyncratic bone and facial structure."[27]
Domhnall Gleeson[8] as General Hux, leader of the primary First Order base, Starkiller Base.[28] Gleeson described him as "pretty ruthless. A strong disciplinarian would be a mild way of putting it... He's kind of opposite Kylo Ren. They have their own relationship, which is individual and unusual. One of them is strong in different ways than the other. They're both vying for power."[29]
Anthony Daniels as C-3PO.[8] Daniels said the actors were allowed to experiment with their performances, and that Abrams "made a field, a playpen where you were allowed to take your time and suggest things".[30]
Erik Bauersfeld provided Ackbar's voice, as he did in Return of the Jedi. [39]
Kiran Shah as Teedo, a scavenger on Jakku who rides a semi-mechanical Luggabeast.[40]
Mike Quinn as Nien Nunb. Also reprising his role from Return of the Jedi, following the passing of Richard Bonehill, who previously performed the character with Quinn.[41]
Kipsang Rotich provided the voice of Nien Nunb, as he did in Return of the Jedi[42][43]
Kenny Baker served as "consultant" for R2-D2.[8][46]Baker was not able to physically play the character but did visit the set to consult on the performance.[47]
Star Wars creator George Lucas discussed ideas for a sequel trilogy several times after the conclusion of the original trilogy, but denied any intent to make it.[72] In October 2012, he sold his production company Lucasfilm, and with it the Star Wars franchise, to Disney.[73] Speaking alongside the new Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy, Lucas said: "I always said I wasn't going to do any more and that's true, because I'm not going to do any more, but that doesn't mean I'm unwilling to turn it over to Kathy to do more."[74]
As creative consultant on the film, Lucas attended early story meetings and advised on the details of the Star Wars universe.[73] Among the materials he turned over to the production team were his rough story treatments for Episodes VII–IX; he later stated that Disney had discarded his story ideas[75][76] and that he had no further involvement with the film.[77] Lucas' son Jett told The Guardian that his father was "very torn" about having sold the rights to the franchise, despite having hand-picked Abrams to direct, and that his father was "there to guide" but that "he wants to let it go and become its new generation."[78] In November 2015, Lucas said that Disney was "not that keen" to involve him and conceded: "If I get in there, I'm just going to cause trouble because they're not going to do what I want them to do, and I don't have the control to do that any more, and all it would do is just muck everything up."[79]
Episode VII's first screenplay was written by Michael Arndt.[80][81][82]David Fincher,[83]Brad Bird[84] and Guillermo del Toro were considered as directors.[85]J. J. Abrams was announced as the director in January 2013, with Lawrence Kasdan and Simon Kinberg as project consultants.[86][87] The production announced the exit of Arndt from the project on October 24, 2013, and Kasdan and Abrams took over script duties.[88] Abrams cited time concerns over the change of writers,[89] and expressed relief that the release date was announced for December 2015 instead of a previously discussed summer release.[90] Abrams and Kasdan both planned out the story while walking for miles in places like Santa Monica, New York City, Paris and London. The first draft was completed in six weeks.[91] Abrams said that the key for the film was to return to the roots of the first Star Wars film and be based more on emotion than explanation.[92] In January 2014, Abrams confirmed that the script was complete.[93] In April 2014, Lucasfilm clarified that Episodes VII–IX would not feature storylines from the expanded universe, though other elements could be included as with the TV series Star Wars Rebels.[94]
In May 2013, it was confirmed that Episode VII would be filmed in the United Kingdom.[95] Representatives from Lucasfilm met with Chancellor of the ExchequerGeorge Osborne to agree to produce Episode VII in the UK.[95] Beginning in September 2013, production spaces at the Bad Robot facility were converted for shooting of Episode VII for the benefit of shooting a minor portion of the film in the United States.[96]
The film's costume designer was Michael Kaplan, who had previously worked with Abrams on his Star Trek films.[97] Film editors Mary Jo Markey and Maryann Brandon, also long-term collaborators with Abrams, were also signed.[98] In August 2013, it was announced that cinematographerDaniel Mindel would be shooting the film on 35 mm film (specifically Kodak5219).[99] In October 2013, other crew members were confirmed, including sound designer Ben Burtt, director of photography Daniel Mindel, production designers Rick Carter and Darren Gilford, costume designer Michael Kaplan, special effects supervisor Chris Corbould, re-recording mixer Gary Rydstrom, supervising sound editor Matthew Wood, visual effects supervisor Roger Guyett, and executive producers Tommy Harper and Jason McGatlin.[100][101][102][103]
Casting began around August 2013, with Abrams meeting with potential actors for script readings and screen tests. Open auditions were held in the UK, Ireland, and the United States in November 2013 for the roles of Rachel and Thomas.[104][105][106] Casting began in earnest in January 2014, because of changes to the script by Kasdan and Abrams.[107] Screen tests with actors continued until at least three weeks before the official announcement on April 29, 2014, with final casting decisions being made only a few weeks prior. Actors testing had strict non-disclosure agreements, preventing them, their agents or publicists from commenting on their potential involvement.[108]
Though Lucas intimated that previous cast members Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford, and Mark Hamill would return for the new film as early as March 2013,[73] their casting was not confirmed until over a year later.[8]Saoirse Ronan,[109]Michael B. Jordan,[110] and Lupita Nyong'o[111] auditioned for new characters; industry publications reported Jesse Plemons was considered, possibly for Luke Skywalker's son;[112]Adam Driver for an unnamed villain;[113] and Maisie Richardson-Sellers for an unknown character.[114] In March 2014, actor Dominic Monaghan said that Abrams was looking for three unknown actors to play the leads in Episode VII and that rumors of bigger-name stars were untrue.[115]
Daisy Ridley was chosen for the film by February 2014, and by the end of that month a deal had been worked out with Driver, who was able to work around his Girls schedule. By March 2014, talks with Andy Serkis and Oscar Isaac began and continued into April 2014. In April, John Boyega began talks after dropping out of a Jesse Owens biopic.[108]Denis Lawson, who played Wedge Antilles in the original trilogy, was asked to reprise his role, but declined, stating that it would have "bored" him.[116]
On April 29, 2014, the cast was announced with a photo of the first table read of the script at Pinewood Studios near London,[8] picturing director Abrams with Ford, Daisy Ridley, Fisher, Peter Mayhew, producer Bryan Burk, Lucasfilm president and producer Kathleen Kennedy, Domhnall Gleeson, Anthony Daniels, Hamill, Serkis, Oscar Isaac, Boyega, Driver, and writer Lawrence Kasdan. The announcement was originally planned for May 4 (Star Wars Day), but was announced early because of fears of media leaks. In June 2014, Lupita Nyong'o and Gwendoline Christie were announced in the cast.[23]
To prepare for his role, Hamill grew out his beard[117] and was assigned a personal trainer and a nutritionist at the request of the producers, who wanted him to resemble an older Luke.[118] Fisher was also assigned a personal trainer and a nutritionist to prepare for her role.[118] Abrams initially considered using Daniels only in a voice role for C-3PO,[119] but the production team built a new C-3PO suit to accommodate Daniels.[120]
In May, Abrams announced a donation contest for UNICEF from the Star Wars set in Abu Dhabi; the winner was allowed to visit the set, meet members of the cast and appear in the film.[121] In October 2014, Warwick Davis, who played Wald and Weazle in The Phantom Menace and Wicket in Return of the Jedi, announced that he would appear in The Force Awakens, but did not reveal his role.[122] In November 2014, Reynolds confirmed that Fisher's daughter, Billie Lourd, is in the film.[54] Isaac's uncle, a Star Wars fan, was cast as an extra at the invitation of Abrams upon visiting the set.[123]
In February 2014, Abrams said filming would begin in May and last about three months.[92] The official announcement came on March 18, when Disney and Lucasfilm announced that principal photography would commence in May and be based at Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire, England.[124] In March, it was revealed that pre-production filming would be taking place in Iceland prior to the start of official filming in May, consisting of landscape shots which would be used for scenery in the film.[125] On April 2, Walt Disney Studios chairman Alan Horn confirmed that filming had begun,[126] filming in secret in the U.A.E.emirate of Abu Dhabi by a second-unit.[127][128] Later that month, it was revealed that in addition to 35mm film, segments of the film were being shot in the 65mm IMAX format.[129] On July 8, Bad Robot reported on Twitter that the film would be at least partially shot on IMAX cameras.[130]
In early May 2014, the studio posted a selfie taken by Iger with Chewbacca. Iger stated the photo was taken when he visited Pinewood Studios two weeks earlier to discuss the shoot, "which was just about to start", with Abrams, Kennedy, and Horn.[131] Principal photography began in Abu Dhabi on May 16, 2014.[132][133][134] Abrams and members of the cast went to Abu Dhabi in early May, where large sets were built at the location, including a shuttle-like spacecraft, a large tower and a big market, and explosives were used to create a "blast crater". Cast members were spotted practicing driving vehicles that would be used during filming.[135] Production moved to Pinewood Studios in June.[136]
On June 12, Harrison Ford fractured his leg while filming at Pinewood after a hydraulic door fell on him, and was taken to a hospital. Production was suspended for two weeks to accommodate Ford's injury.[137] Ford's son Ben stated that Ford's ankle would likely need a plate and screws and that filming could be altered slightly, with the crew needing to shoot Ford from the waist up for a short time until he recovered.[138]Jake Steinfeld, Ford's personal trainer, said in July that Ford was recovering rapidly.[139] Abrams also injured his back when he was trying to help lift the door after Ford's accident. However, he kept this to himself and did not tell anyone about it for over a month.[140]
On July 29, 2014, filming took place over three days at Skellig Michael island off the coast of County Kerry in Ireland with a cast including Mark Hamill and Daisy Ridley.[141][142] Production was halted for two weeks in early August 2014 so Abrams could rework shooting in Ford's absence and resumed with a fully healed Ford during mid-August.[143][144] In September 2014, the former RAF Greenham Common military base in Berkshire, near Pinewood Studios, was used as a filming location and featured set constructions of several spaceships from the Star Wars Universe.[145][146] Principal photography ended on November 3, 2014.[147]
Post-production
Cinematographer Daniel Mindel stated that The Force Awakens would use real locations and scale models over computer-generated imagery to make it aesthetically similar to the original Star Wars trilogy.[148]Rian Johnson, director of Episode VIII, reiterated that Abrams would use little CGI and more practical, traditional special effects, saying: "I think people are coming back around to [practical effects]. It feels like there is sort of that gravity pulling us back toward it. I think that more and more people are hitting kind of a critical mass in terms of the CG-driven action scene lending itself to a very specific type of action scene, where physics go out the window and it becomes so big so quick."[149] Abrams' intention in prioritizing practical special effects was to recreate the visual realism and authenticity of the original Star Wars.[150] To that end, the droid BB-8 was a physical prop that was developed by Disney Research,[151] created by special effects artist Neal Scanlan and operated live on set with the actors.[152][153] In August 2015, Abrams gave the estimated running time of the film as 124–125 minutes.[154]
In February 2014, Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) announced plans to open a facility in London, citing Disney's Star Wars films as a catalyst for the expansion. ILM's Vancouver branch will also work on the special effects for the film.[155]
It's all a continuation of an initial set of ideas. It's a bit like adding paragraphs to a letter that’s been going on for a number of years. Starting with a completely new film, a story that I don't know, characters that I haven't met, my whole approach to writing music is completely different—trying to find an identity, trying to find melodic identifications if that’s needed for the characters, and so on.
—John Williams on returning to the Star Wars universe[156]
In July 2013, John Williams was confirmed to compose the score.[157] The music for the film's first two trailers was reworked from earlier Williams compositions.[158][159][160] He began working on the film in December 2014, and by June 2015 had been through most of the film reels, working on a daily basis.[161][162] In May 2015, Williams stated that he would return to themes from the previous films, such as ones for Luke, Leia and Han, in ways that "will seem very natural and right in the moments for which we've chosen to do these kinds of quotes. There aren't many of them, but there are a few that I think are important and will seem very much a part of the fabric of the piece in a positive and constructive way." He said that working with Abrams was similar to the process he went through with Lucas in the earlier films.[156]
Recording sessions for The Force Awakens began in June 2015 at the Sony Pictures Studios' Barbra Streisand Scoring Stage in Culver City, with William Ross conducting most of the music.[163] The first day of recording was June 1, 2015.[164] Williams attended the sessions and conducted the remainder of the recordings.[165][166] The recording process was “very luxurious”, Williams said, with 12 sessions scattered over a five-month period between June and November. The score was recorded by a freelance orchestra, with sessions continuing on and off over that five-month period. The 90-piece orchestra recorded 175 minutes of music, although nearly an hour of that was discarded, modified, or rerecorded as Abrams re-edited the film. Williams's theme for Snoke was recorded by a 24-voice men’s chorus. Gustavo Dudamel conducted the opening and end title music for the film at Williams' behest.[167] Recording of the score was completed on November 14, 2015.[160][161][168] The film's soundtrack was released by Walt Disney Records on December 18, 2015.[169] In the film, Williams's score is more than two hours long.[161]
Lin-Manuel Miranda and Abrams contributed music to the film's cantina scene, similar to the Mos Eisley Cantina. Abrams met Miranda at a performance of his Broadway musical Hamilton, where Miranda jokingly offered to compose the cantina music, should it be needed. Unknown to Miranda, Williams had previously told Abrams that he did not want to compose the music for that scene, wanting to focus on the orchestral score for the film. Abrams then contacted Miranda, and the two began to collaborate on the music for the scene, over a period of two months.[170]
Release
The Force Awakens premiered in Los Angeles at the TCL Chinese Theatre, El Capitan Theatre and Dolby Theatre on December 14, 2015.[171] A white tent stretched along Hollywood Boulevard from Orange Drive to Highland Avenue, covering the "massive" premiere event that hosted more than five thousand guests.[172] The film was released in 12 countries including European nations (such as Italy and France, releasing it on a Wednesday), the Philippines and Thailand on December 16; 32 countries including the United Kingdom (releasing on a Thursday), Mexico and additional European, Asian, South American and Oceania countries on December 17; and in North America, Japan, Spain, and Venezuela on December 18,[173] in 3D and IMAX 3D.[174] It will be released in India on December 25[175] and in China on January 9, 2016.[173]
In North America, it had the widest release of December across 4,134 theaters of which 3,300 were 3D locations, a record 392 IMAX screens (13 of which are 70mm), 451 premium large format screens, 146 D-Box locations,[176][177] as well as releasing in the Dolby Vision format (High dynamic range, Rec. 2020 color) in Dolby Cinema.[178] Worldwide, it will be released across 940 IMAX theaters, a new record.[177] Beginning on December 18, 2015, the film is being shown on every IMAX screen in North America for four straight weeks up to January 14, 2016. Warner Bros. Pictures' The Hobbit trilogy were the last films to receive such a release.[179]
On November 6, 2014, the film's title was announced as Star Wars: The Force Awakens.[180] Although the title does not include the words "Episode VII", Episode VII was included in the opening crawl.[6][7] Advance ticket sales for the film began on October 19, 2015,[181] and were in strong demand, resulting in online movie ticket sites crashing.[182][183]Vue Cinemas, the U.K.'s third-largest theater chain, sold 45,000 tickets in 24 hours, 10,000 of which were sold in 90 minutes, a record for the theater.[184] In the United States, pre-sold a record breaking $6.5 million worth of IMAX ticket sales on a single day. IMAX has never previously registered more than $1 million in pre-sales on a single day.[185] In total it sold over $50 million in pre-sales breaking the record previously held by the 2012 films The Hunger Games and The Dark Knight Rises ($25 million).[186][187] This number was raised to $100 million including $50–60 million in advance ticket sales by December 14.[188][187] However, not all tickets that were pre-sold were for the film's opening weekend, with Fandango President Paul Yanover saying "people have set aside tickets for screenings in January, weeks after the big opening... We have people buying Star Wars [The Force Awakens] into 2016. It's not just an opening-weekend phenomenon."[186] Similarly, the film broke pre-sales records in the United Kingdom,[189] Canada,[190] and Germany.[191]
On November 28, 2014, Lucasfilm released a 90-second teaser trailer to promote The Force Awakens. It was screened in selected cinemas across the United States and Canada and in theaters worldwide in December 2014. It was also released on YouTube and the iTunes store,[192] generating a record 58.2 million views on YouTube in its first week.[193] Critics compared the brief footage favorably to the production values of the original trilogy. The Hollywood Reporter called the trailer "perfectly potent nostalgia", praising its mix of old and new.[194]Empire was impressed by the continuity with the first films – "the feel of classic Star Wars" – but noted the absence of Hamill, Ford, and Fisher and speculated about the significance of the new characters.[195]The Guardian wrote that the use of the Star Wars fanfare by John Williams reinforced brand loyalty among fans.[196]
On December 11, 2014, Abrams and Kennedy released a series of eight mock Toppstrading cards revealing the names of several characters.[18] On April 16, 2015, a second teaser trailer, this one lasting two minutes, was shown at the opening panel at the Star Wars Celebration in Anaheim, California. Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy said the reaction to the trailer was "staggering... the entire room of almost eight thousand people just leapt to their feet and roared, I mean I can't think of anything I've ever been to – other than a rock concert – that felt quite like that."[197] The trailer was viewed over 88 million times within the first 24 hours of release, breaking the record of 62 million held by Furious 7 in November 2014.[198][199] According to the Guinness World Records, the second teaser trailer amassed 30.65 million in 24 hours, setting a new world record for the "most viewed movie trailer on YouTube in 24 hours".[200] The event was broadcast live by Verizon on YouTube, StarWars.com and in movie theaters. The trailer shows many of the new characters and the first footage of Chewbacca and Han Solo. The Huffington Post's Graham Milne wrote that the trailer "was an affirmation of something that we'd long been told was never going to happen. This was a gift. This was faith rewarded. About damn time."[201]
Vanity Fair was the first magazine to release an exclusive cover issue devoted to The Force Awakens. The magazine, released on May 7, 2015, features new interviews and photos of the cast photographed by Annie Leibovitz.[202][203] At the 2015 San Diego Comic-Con International, in addition to a panel with many of the actors, a behind-the-scenes look at the film demonstrated the film's use of practical sets and effects. It was positively received, with Nigel M. Smith of The Guardian writing: "The featurette’s angle is a strong one and connects with fans of the original trilogy in an incredibly poignant way. It also does a sly job of teasing Fisher’s new look as Leia and Simon Pegg’s mysterious involvement as a rumored alien in the movie, without actually showing the actors in action." Smith compared the marketing strategy for the film to that of a previous Abrams film, Super 8, saying "the promos... are notable for what they tease, not what they give away."[204]
Walt Disney Studios and Lucasfilm presented a look at The Force Awakens at Disney's D23 Expo in August 2015.[205]Drew Struzan—who designed the poster artwork for the previous Star Wars films—produced a commemorative poster given to the event's attendees.[206] In October 2015, Lucasfilm unveiled the theatrical release poster and a third trailer.[207] The poster omitted Luke Skywalker and revealed a Death Star-like "orb".[208] The trailer debuted during the halftime break of Monday Night Football, before being released online.[209] The reaction to the trailer by fans on social media was "frenzied", with Lizo Mzimba of the BBC writing that "perhaps the most significant thing about the final trailer before the film's release is how little of the story it reveals".[210] Robbie Collin of the The Daily Telegraph felt the trailer was "a perfect blend of old and new, in keeping with the old-fashioned Star Wars aesthetic".[211] The trailer received 128 million views in 24 hours, a new record for the most views of a trailer in 24 hours. 16 million of the views came from its airing on Monday Night Football.[212] At the end of October, Air France announced a "Flight and Cinema" package, providing customers who book select flights to Paris transportation to a theater to see the film, since France is one of the first countries to release the film.[213] On November 6, a Japanese trailer for the film was released.[214][215] After seeing the new trailer Forbes' Ollie Barder stated the trailer gave him "hope" that the film would not "let us all down like the prequels did... [with] a worthwhile story this time."[216] On November 23, a partnership with Google was announced, in which Google users could choose to affiliate themselves with either the Dark or Light Side, which would change the appearance of their Google websites. Additionally, Disney teamed up with Verizon to create a virtual-reality experience for Google Cardboard.[217]
At the beginning of December 2015, as a lead up to the release of The Force Awakens, Chicago based theater company, Under the Gun Theater, developed a parody revue which recapped all six episodes of the Star Wars films.[218] On December 17, 2015, select theaters across North America aired a Star Wars Marathon, airing the six previous Star Wars episode films in 2D, followed by The Force Awakens in 3D. Attendees received a special lanyard featuring exclusive marathon art.[219]
Merchandise
Disney Publishing Worldwide and Lucasfilm announced a series of 20 books and e-books, titled "Journey to Star Wars: The Force Awakens", with releases starting in late 2015, prior to the film. The series will include books by Del Rey and Disney-Lucasfilm publishers and comic books from Marvel Comics. All titles under the program are canonical to the Star Wars universe.[220] The first novel, Star Wars: Aftermath, was released in September 2015 and is written by Chuck Wendig. The story is set shortly after the film Return of the Jedi and deals with the consequences of the deaths of Palpatine and Darth Vader, as well as the power vacuum formed in the Empire's rule over the galaxy and the actions of the Rebellion during the following months. It is intended to be the first in a trilogy of novels that will bridge the Star Wars timeline between the original trilogy and The Force Awakens.[221]Alan Dean Foster will write the novelization of the film.[222]
Disney Consumer Products and Lucasfilm announced that September 4, 2015 would be deemed "Force Friday" and would be the official launch of all of the merchandise for The Force Awakens. Beginning at 12:01am, fans could buy toys, books, clothing and various other products at Disney Stores and other retailers throughout the world.[223] Disney and Maker Studios hosted an 18-hour live-streaming presentation on YouTube, showcasing multiple merchandise products beginning on September 3, 2015.[224][225] Among these products were a remote-controlled BB-8 developed by Sphero.[151] Sphero had participated in a Disney-run startup accelerator in July 2014, where they were invited into a private meeting with Disney CEO Bob Iger, in which they were shown on-set photos and imagery of BB-8 before its public unveiling.[226][227] Many retailers were unable to meet demand for Star Wars products.[228]
Reception
Box office
Theatrical run
Star Wars: The Force Awakens was released in the United States and Canada on December 18, 2015. It made a record breaking $57 million from Thursday night previews[b] (breaking Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2's $43.5 million record) of which 3D made up 47% of the gross while IMAX generated $5.7 million from 391 screens (breaking Avengers: Age of Ultron's $3 million record).[5] The film opened on December 16, 2015 in 12 international markets and earned $14.1 million on its opening day, debuting at first place in all of them.[232] It expanded in an additional 42 countries on December 17 generating $58.6 million for a two day international total of $72.7 million, reaching in first place in all 44 markets.[233] It also set a new midnight record in the United Kingdom with $3.6 million.[234] Internationally, it broke all time opening day records in the UK, Ireland and Malta ($14.3 million), Germany ($7.1 million), Australia ($6.8 million), Sweden ($1.7 million), Norway ($1.1 million) and in 14 other countries.[234][232][5][235]
= Commercial analysis
With an estimated budget of $200 million ($423 million including marketing, printing and advertising costs, and making and distribution of home videos, along with an additonal $22.3 million spent on TV trailers and a further $51.4 million spent on ancillary products such as video games, action figures and costumes), The Force Awakens is predicted to be a major box office success.[3][236][188] Reports in April 2015 from The Hollywood Reporter and Amboee Brand Intelligence predicted the film would earn up to $540 million worldwide for its opening, breaking the record for the biggest worldwide opening (held by Jurassic World with $524.1 million in June 2015), as well as breaking the record for the biggest U.S. opening (also held by Jurassic World, with $208.8 million). They also believed that The Force Awakens would have the widest release ever, across 4,500 theaters in North America (a record held by The Twilight Saga: Eclipse with 4,468 theaters).[237] Box office analyst Phil Contrino likened the film to Avatar (2009), which opened to $77 million in North America and went on to earn $2.8 billion worldwide, saying The Force Awakens would earn $1 billion "without blinking" and could cross $2 billion.[237] In August 2015, Deadline.com predicted an opening weekend of $615 million worldwide could be possible, including a $300 million opening in North America.[238] In November, box office analysts reported opening weekend projections were at $175–250 million.[239][176][240] In December, capital analyst Barton Crockett suggested that the film will be the first to gross over $3 billion worldwide at the box office.[241] Analysts have noted, however, that the box office receipts of the film, when compared to predecessors, must be adjusted for inflation, and that the first Star Wars film made more when this adjustment is made.[242] It has further been observed that each of the first three films in the series was more profitable in calculating revenue against production costs.[242]
Critical response
The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 95% approval rating, based on 264 reviews, with an average rating of 8.3/10. The website's critical consensus reads: "Packed with action and populated by both familiar faces and fresh blood, The Force Awakens successfully recalls the series' former glory while injecting it with renewed energy."[243] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 81 out of 100, based on 51 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[244] On CinemaScore, audiences gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale. Women, under 25s and under 18s gave an "A+", while 98% of audiences gave the film an "A" or "B".[245]
Robbie Collin of The Daily Telegraph gave the film five stars out of five and wrote that it "sets out to shake Star Wars from its slumber, and reconnect the series with its much-pined-for past. That it achieves this both immediately and joyously is perhaps the single greatest relief of the movie-going year."[246]Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian also gave it five stars out of five, writing that it was "both a narrative progression from the earlier three films and a shrewdly affectionate next-gen reboot ... ridiculous and melodramatic and sentimental of course, but exciting and brimming with energy and its own kind of generosity."[247]Variety's Justin Chang wrote that the film has "sufficient style, momentum, love and care to prove irresistible to any who have ever considered themselves fans."[248]Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film four stars out of four, describing it as "a beautiful, thrilling, joyous, surprising and heart-thumping adventure."[249] Tom Long of The Detroit News wrote that though some may find the film too similar to the original Star Wars, it leaves "the ungainly and unneeded clumsiness of the subsequent prequels far behind ... the energy, humor and simplicity of direction [has] been recaptured."[250] The Associated Press called it "basically the same" as the original film, but "isn't that what we all wanted anyway?"[251]
Ann Hornaday, writing for The Washington Post, thought the film had "enough novelty to create yet another cohort of die-hard fans ... The Force Awakens strikes all the right chords, emotional and narrative, to feel both familiar and exhilaratingly new."[252]Christopher Orr, writing in The Atlantic, called the film "a mashup masterpiece" that "may be completely derivative" but is "a delight nonetheless".[253]The Charlotte Observer's Lawrence Toppman said Abrams had "pulled off a delicate balancing act, paying clever homage to the past".[254]Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle gave the film his highest rating and called it "the best Star Wars sequel yet and one of the best films of 2015."[255] In The Daily Mail, Brian Viner gave The Force Awakens four stars out of five and wrote that it "is a triumph of escapism and the most exhilarating film yet in this mighty franchise."[256] Frank Pallotta, reviewing the film for CNN Money, found it was the best Star Wars film since the original trilogy and that it "is bound to be a film experience long remembered by fans and non-fans alike."[257]
Conversely, Andrew O'Hehir wrote for Salon that the film was "the work of a talented mimic or ventriloquist who can just about cover for the fact that he has nothing much to say."[258]Stephanie Zacharek of Time wrote that "somewhere along the way, Abrams begins delivering everything we expect, as opposed to those nebulous wonders we didn't know we wanted."[259] Reviewing for Forbes, Scott Mendelson noted the "top-tier production values and a strong sense of scale and scope", but found the film to be so much "an exercise in fan service [that] it is only due to the charisma and talent of our newbies and J. J. Abrams' undeniable skill as a visual storyteller that the Mad Libs narrative doesn't outright destroy the picture."[260]
Rian Johnson confirmed in August 2014 that he would direct Episode VIII.[149] Like The Force Awakens, filming for Episode VIII will take place at Pinewood Studios near London.[262][263] Some second-unit filming took place in September 2015 in Ireland, with principal photography to begin in March 2016.[263][264] It is scheduled for release on May 26, 2017.[265] Hamill,[266] Isaac,[267] Christie,[268] and Boyega will reprise their roles as Luke Skywalker, Poe Dameron, Captain Phasma and Finn, respectively.[269] In August 2015, Colin Trevorrow was announced as the director of Episode IX.[270]
^Unlike other films in the series, the seventh installment's official title does not include the words "Episode VII"; however, they are included in its opening crawl.[6][7]
^The $57 million figure incorporates revenues generated from the "Star Wars Marathon Event" from 135 theaters in which all previous six Star Wars films were shown along with Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Ticket prices cost $59.99 for all the films (including The Force Awakens) at an average of $8.57 per movie.[229][230][231]
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