Breaking News – ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ On Pace To Be Top-grossing Film Of All Time


The breaking news for movie-goers is that Star Wars: The Force Awakens could very well become the top-grossing film of all time.

According to Fortune magazine, the latest Star Wars offering scored $125 million in United States and Canadian ticket sales on Friday, December 18, 2015, and a projected $225 million through Sunday, to hand the widely anticipated flick a record-breaking weekend with more awesome news in the offing.

Disney number-crunchers stood by a prediction Friday of Star Wars: The Force Awakens breaking the $208.8 million record claimed by Jurassic World in June. A Disney statement indicated that show times were being added to preset cinema schedules to accommodate news of “unprecedented demand.”

KTLA 5 tallying U.S. box office numbers alone, pegged the Star Wars sequel’s take at a box-office breaking $120.5 million for its U.S. opening day on Friday. The prior news-worthy opening-day record holder in the U.S. was Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 2, raking in $91.7 million.

According to The Blaze, The Force Awakens, J.J. Abrams’ seventh chapter in George Lucas’ saga has clinched the coveted “A” CinemaScore thanks to fans massing to movie venues all over the country. A record-smashing $100 million in advance tickets preceded news of the movie opener’s significance in the forecast for the rest of the season.

Selfie with stormtrooper
Selfie with a stormtrooper [Photo by David McNew/Getty Images]
In terms of breaking into the overseas market, The Force Awakens earned approximately $129.5 million when international moviegoers responded to the news Wednesday that theaters had flung their doors open and tickets were going like crazy.

Disney money-men foresee The Force Awakens breaking June’s surprise sensation Jurassic World, whose global weekend opening record of $524.9 million wavers against the overwhelming news of paying customers flocking to see the Star Wars sequel.

After The Walt Disney Company acquired Lucasfilm in October 2012, The Force Awakens earned the distinction of being the first film in the Star Wars sequel trilogy breaking through a long hiatus. The production team consisted of Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy, J.J. Abrams, and Bryan Burk. Other key players were Lawrence Kasdan, co-writer of the original trilogy films The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi, while Abrams himself pitched in to rewrite an initial script by Michael Arndt. Star Wars creator and news-magnet George Lucas hung around as a consultant during the film’s early production stages, to add his own ingredient to the brew.

Original ground-breaking stars Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, and Carrie Fisher provided solid steerage for the seventh installment of the Star Wars film series, shot in Abu Dhabi and Iceland. The good news for Max Von Sydow fans is that he appears in a vital role near the beginning of the film.

En garde, Star Wars warrior!
To arms, Star Wars minions! [Photo by David McNew/Getty Images]
The Force Awakens is set approximately 30 years after the breaking events of Return of the Jedi (1983), and follows Rey, Finn, and Poe Dameron’s fight with the Resistance, led by Luke’s sister Leia Organa, against bad-news boys Kylo Ren and the First Order, descended from the Galactic Empire.

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 sneak up, breaking through the village’s defenses to capture Poe. His droid BB-8 escapes with a copy of the map, and comes across a scavenger named Rey at a junkyard settlement. News of Luke’s whereabouts is at a premium for the contending parties, and the action intensifies from there.

According to The Guardian, J.J. Abrams initially rejected the opportunity to direct Star Wars: The Force Awakens because he did not want rumors breaking out that he was “the guy who does sequels.” But the 49-year-old director consulted his wife Katie McGrath who convinced him to take on what is set to be the news-maker of the decade, grossing more than Avatar‘s global box office record.

[Photo by David McNew/Getty Images]

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