The Force Awakened

It was actually December 18th, 2015 when The Force Awakened but it’s Throwback Thursday and the 18th is Sunday. As I sit on the cusp of the premiere of another Star Wars movie I love thinking about the success of The Force Awakens. I’m really happy how well it was received not only by Star Wars fans, but the majority of movie goers. Here are a few *numbers I found:

  •  It earned $935 million domestic, thus making it the biggest-grossing movie of all time in America
  •  It was the first movie to earn $750m on an initial release and the first to earn $800m, $850m, and $900m.
  •  By the end of the tenth day, it had earned $540 million domestic
  •  It ended up selling more tickets than all but maybe ten other movies in all of cinematic history.

The Force Awakens wasn’t everyone’s cup-of-tea but you can’t deny the amazing success the movie has had. I still remember the feeling I had as I was sitting in the theater waiting for the movie to start. The same feelings I had for several hours after the movie was over. The Force awakened the child in all of us because we all felt 10 years old again that day. Any reservations and skepticism we felt because Disney now runs the franchise were also blown to pieces.

Rogue One has a Tough Act to Follow

Tonight the first of the Star Wars spin-off movies premiers to the public. Rogue One: A Star Wars story will have a tough act to follow. I’ll be honest, I’m not setting my expectations very high because I think this movie is going to have a different appeal. We already know it will not have the iconic opening crawl and the score is not composed by John Williams (but fear not, Michael Giacchino is no slacker). So far the preliminary reviews are fairly positive with an 83% on the “Tomatometer“. I really don’t expect this movie to be as extraordinary as TFA but I do hope it will be loved by all the real Star Wars fans.

The movie does have all the right ingredients to be successful. As long as the acting is solid, the music is great and everyone understands how the story fits in; I think it will do well in the theaters. I am excited to see Rogue One but probably not as eager as I was to see TFA. There was a certain amount of mystery in The Force Awakens that Rogue One will not have, obviously. Even though Rogue One will not be quite as inscrutable, I still think our inner child will still be waiting with bated breath. A feeling that Star Wars has always inspired and that which Disney has fully restored.

* Numbers come from this Forbes article

The Force. It calls to you. Just let it in.