PhotoDave219
Well-Known Member
Harry who?
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A Spirited Perfect Ten
- Thread starter WDW1974
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lebeau
Well-Known Member
That is correct. Star Wars had a built-in advantage along with higher ticket costs. So beating the record was a given. Even so, $57 million was beyond expectations.
englanddg
One Little Spark...
It was. Midnight premier. This is the first time that I recall that I've seen them do "pre-release" premiers that leaked this far into the day before.
It will certainly throw off opening box office numbers, but for Star Wars, I doubt they are going to have much of an issue. I eagerly anticipate this knocking Avatar off the top spot for World Wide BO gross.
tokengator
Active Member
I completely disagree with your comments about Lucasfilm. First of all you cannot seperate George Lucas from Lucasfilm when, prior to selling it, he was 'the man'. The company was at his direction and thus was an extension of him. George Lucas was all about doing whatever he could to extract cash from Star wars...from inserting characters strictly for the purposes and hopes of mega merchandising (JarJar, Ewoks), to the constant tinkering and remastering so he could keep releasing the same movies over and over.
Nobody was worse for star wars than lucas and many, if not most, star wars fans were very elated to see that it was taken away from George's hands. There may be plenty that didn't want it to go to disney, but you will be hard pressed to find any that were not pleased to see it out of George's hands.
and of course the prequals -- not many people will ever forgive George for what he did with those movies. Mostly out of his own hubris and cash grab (i.e. dumbing and watering them down, merchandise placement, and many other things)
George was eating his own baby.
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lebeau
Well-Known Member
I'm reading that is unlikely to happen.
Not offering an opinion one way or another. But the projections I am seeing is that it comes in 3rd behind Titanic. I believe that was adjusted for inflation.
tokengator
Active Member
that is weird. Fandango said today that the movie, just on advanced ticket sales, is already the highest selling movie they have ever had on their website. Granted it is just one ticket purchasing entity, but a very widely used entity.
lebeau
Well-Known Member
Advance ticket sales aren't always a good indicator of overall box office performance. Titanic and Avatar didn't have advance ticket sales. There was no such thing back in the Titanic days and they were uncommon as recently as when Avatar was released. Sometimes, you will have movies that sell a lot of advance tickets and perform poorly and vice versa.
Having said that, I'm sure SW will break most if not all box office records.
tokengator
Active Member
oh I know, but what I meant is the advanced tickets alone broke all sales records for a single movie on fandango. Not all advanced ticket sales record -- all sales records for a single movie and it happened with just advanced tickets. Note: I don't think fandango was around for titanic.
then you combine it with the rave reviews -- i expected a HUGE number once this thing got out there. Something seems off about that 57 million number
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BrianLo
Well-Known Member
I can't wait to see what doom and gloom the usuals come up with now that Star Wars has met all the quite overblown critic, fan and financial expectations.
Yes, I'm sure the Star Wars expansions in DL/DHS will be a failure too.
Off to see the downfall of Disney in a couple hours.
Yes, I'm sure the Star Wars expansions in DL/DHS will be a failure too.
Off to see the downfall of Disney in a couple hours.
gmajew
Premium Member
I agree something just seams off... As what time do they stop recording sales etc... So who knows we will wait and see what Friday number is... I am guessing over 120M for the day
doctornick
Well-Known Member
Isn't $57M the largest Thur night "preview" number ever? Who would that number be unbelievable?
doctornick
Well-Known Member
I don't think anyone really knows. And, honestly, we won't have much of an idea until we see what kind of "legs" TFA. My guess is that TFA will have a lot of people doing repeat viewings, which will booster the numbers, but I think what it needs to pass Avatar is to have people go out of their way to see the film (especially on repeat viewings) in more expensive formats. I haven't gotten the "you need to see this in IMAX (or 3D)" vibe with TFA.
ToInfinityAndBeyond
Well-Known Member
Can I just say that BB-8 is my new spirit animal?
gmajew
Premium Member
It was showing a min of an extra 2 times per theater across america then Harry Potter.... Plus this movie draws a larger crowd I just thought it would do more.. I am not disappointed but question when did the count stop
lebeau
Well-Known Member
I would question that assumption.
lebeau
Well-Known Member
Why Is Disney’s Stock Price Falling As ‘Star Wars’ Breaks Box Office Records?
Star Wars: The Force Awakens is poised to become one of the top-grossing movies ever. That’s great news for Disney. So its share price is soaring, right?
Wrong. The stock is down about 4% in midday trading and hit a low of $107.37, which is down 8.9% for the last 30 days.
And BTIG’s Richard Greenfield says the stock still is overpriced: Today he downgraded Disney to “sell,” with a price target of $90.
The problem, he says, is that investors — anticipating big numbers from Star Wars — sent Disney shares too high. The stock is up 15.3% so far in 2015.
If the new movie fails to generate more than $2 billion in worldwide box office sales, Greenfield says, then Disney would fall short of analysts’ consensus earnings-per-share forecasts for the fiscal year that ends in September 2016.
While Star Wars will help the studio’s revenues to “explode” in 2016, they’ll be “flat-to-down-modestly” in 2017 and 2018. And the jolt in consumer product sales is somewhat offset by the decline in purchases for licensed merchandise from Frozen.
But he’s mainly concerned about ESPN, which contributes far more to Disney’s profits than Star Wars. Cable networks, led by ESPN, account for 44% of the company’s operating income.The sports channel “now appears poised to become Disney’s most troubled business as consumer behavior shifts rapidly” to digital video, the analyst says. The company recently said that Nielsen data show that the channel lost about 3.2% of its subscribers this year.
ESPN also could be left out of cable and satellite skinny bundles: In contract negotiations, Disney opted for high rates instead of guarantees to have the channel distributed to a high percentage of subscribers, Greenfield says. That’s why Disney’s suit against Verizon FiOS, which left ESPN out of its low-priced Custom TV offering, “has gone nowhere.”
Meanwhile, ESPN isn’t prepared to offer itself directly to consumers the way CBS does with CBS All Access or HBO does with HBO Go.
Morgan Stanley’s Benjamin Swinburne yesterday also said he’s concerned about ESPN, and lowered his estimates for the sports network’s revenue growth. That plus the tough comparisons against the Frozen-driven merchandise sales “fully offset” the gains for Star Wars — which he predicts will generate $750 million at domestic box offices and $1.5 billion overseas.
Others are more enthusiastic about Star Wars‘ impact. After seeing the film, Nomura’s Anthony DiClemente said that he’s “optimistic the company is well positioned” to see as much as $3.6 billion in revenue and $2.2 billion in operating income from the franchise. He sees box office sales potentially reaching $818 million domestically and $2.2 billion abroad.
Cowen and Co’s Doug Creutz also is optimistic. “No matter how much the film does this weekend … we think the strong critical reviews have more significant implications for the long-term health of the franchise.”
Star Wars: The Force Awakens is poised to become one of the top-grossing movies ever. That’s great news for Disney. So its share price is soaring, right?
Wrong. The stock is down about 4% in midday trading and hit a low of $107.37, which is down 8.9% for the last 30 days.
And BTIG’s Richard Greenfield says the stock still is overpriced: Today he downgraded Disney to “sell,” with a price target of $90.
The problem, he says, is that investors — anticipating big numbers from Star Wars — sent Disney shares too high. The stock is up 15.3% so far in 2015.
If the new movie fails to generate more than $2 billion in worldwide box office sales, Greenfield says, then Disney would fall short of analysts’ consensus earnings-per-share forecasts for the fiscal year that ends in September 2016.
While Star Wars will help the studio’s revenues to “explode” in 2016, they’ll be “flat-to-down-modestly” in 2017 and 2018. And the jolt in consumer product sales is somewhat offset by the decline in purchases for licensed merchandise from Frozen.
But he’s mainly concerned about ESPN, which contributes far more to Disney’s profits than Star Wars. Cable networks, led by ESPN, account for 44% of the company’s operating income.The sports channel “now appears poised to become Disney’s most troubled business as consumer behavior shifts rapidly” to digital video, the analyst says. The company recently said that Nielsen data show that the channel lost about 3.2% of its subscribers this year.
ESPN also could be left out of cable and satellite skinny bundles: In contract negotiations, Disney opted for high rates instead of guarantees to have the channel distributed to a high percentage of subscribers, Greenfield says. That’s why Disney’s suit against Verizon FiOS, which left ESPN out of its low-priced Custom TV offering, “has gone nowhere.”
Meanwhile, ESPN isn’t prepared to offer itself directly to consumers the way CBS does with CBS All Access or HBO does with HBO Go.
Morgan Stanley’s Benjamin Swinburne yesterday also said he’s concerned about ESPN, and lowered his estimates for the sports network’s revenue growth. That plus the tough comparisons against the Frozen-driven merchandise sales “fully offset” the gains for Star Wars — which he predicts will generate $750 million at domestic box offices and $1.5 billion overseas.
Others are more enthusiastic about Star Wars‘ impact. After seeing the film, Nomura’s Anthony DiClemente said that he’s “optimistic the company is well positioned” to see as much as $3.6 billion in revenue and $2.2 billion in operating income from the franchise. He sees box office sales potentially reaching $818 million domestically and $2.2 billion abroad.
Cowen and Co’s Doug Creutz also is optimistic. “No matter how much the film does this weekend … we think the strong critical reviews have more significant implications for the long-term health of the franchise.”
baymenxpac
Well-Known Member
guys, "the force awakens" is going to be the highest-grossing movie of all time. it's going to be avatar and titanic adjusted for inflation.
i say this because:
1) it is very, very, very good.
2) the highest demo turn out last night was the 18-24 demo. $57m dominated by the 18-24? before we even get to the meat of the families? this cuts across every single demo: gender, age, anything, and once it gets churning, it isn't going to stop.
3) there are going to be many people who head back for a second, third, or even fourth viewing. the script is written very similarly to "a new hope" (there are tons of call backs and nods to episode IV throughout the movie) in that there are mysteries slightly glossed over that make you want to investigate more. there is one scene in particular that i want to see a time or two again to break it down as close to frame-by-frame as my eyes will allow.
overall, big tip of the cap to j.j., kathy kennedy, and everyone involved in this. the force is strong with this film, and it was one of the best times i've ever had at the movies.
i say this because:
1) it is very, very, very good.
2) the highest demo turn out last night was the 18-24 demo. $57m dominated by the 18-24? before we even get to the meat of the families? this cuts across every single demo: gender, age, anything, and once it gets churning, it isn't going to stop.
3) there are going to be many people who head back for a second, third, or even fourth viewing. the script is written very similarly to "a new hope" (there are tons of call backs and nods to episode IV throughout the movie) in that there are mysteries slightly glossed over that make you want to investigate more. there is one scene in particular that i want to see a time or two again to break it down as close to frame-by-frame as my eyes will allow.
overall, big tip of the cap to j.j., kathy kennedy, and everyone involved in this. the force is strong with this film, and it was one of the best times i've ever had at the movies.
yepitsandy
Active Member
My favorite thing out of the last 24 hours is seeing things go from "Disney is going to ruin Star Wars!" to "OMG THAT WAS AMAZING." Disney didn't ruin Marvel, why would they ruin Star Wars?
rael ramone
Well-Known Member
Just got back from SW7.
Good, not great.
Acting, Characters, Dialog - unquestionably better then the prequels (nobody hates sand). And can't touch the original 3 (including Jedi).
Effects - no CGI overload like the prequels.
Story - far, far, far inferior to even the prequels. Can't say why without getting into spoilers.
Score - not the least bit memorable. Not. In. The. Least. The Prequels had fantastic scores.
Why it's better then Avengers 2 - the film was self contained - didn't feel like it was setting up the next films while sacrificing what you are seeing in front of you.
Why it's not as good as Spectre - more felt at stake in Spectre (though with flaws similar to SW7) and just better story, execution.
All that said, it didn't feel like a toy commercial. And it in no way, shape, or form felt like a film that demanded multiple viewings in a pricier format. Avatar's record is quite safe.
Good, not great.
Acting, Characters, Dialog - unquestionably better then the prequels (nobody hates sand). And can't touch the original 3 (including Jedi).
Effects - no CGI overload like the prequels.
Story - far, far, far inferior to even the prequels. Can't say why without getting into spoilers.
Score - not the least bit memorable. Not. In. The. Least. The Prequels had fantastic scores.
Why it's better then Avengers 2 - the film was self contained - didn't feel like it was setting up the next films while sacrificing what you are seeing in front of you.
Why it's not as good as Spectre - more felt at stake in Spectre (though with flaws similar to SW7) and just better story, execution.
All that said, it didn't feel like a toy commercial. And it in no way, shape, or form felt like a film that demanded multiple viewings in a pricier format. Avatar's record is quite safe.
John
Well-Known Member
I agree....Potter who? Its to early to crown the new king but it is looking that way. What Disney has to do is parlay this success to SWland. Take some notes on how UNI executed Potter land and double down. If they do it could wipe out any gains UNI has made in the park wars. On the downside they could also continue its programs of cuts and the public will line up and just open their wallets and surrender.