December 21, 2015

Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, and Princess Leia were back in 2015, breaking every major opening record in motion-picture box-office history with the latest installment in the “Star Wars” franchise. Opening on December 18, The Force Awakens earned $247 million in North America and $528 million globally, beating out Jurassic World, which opened in June with $208.8 million in North America and $525 million globally. The Force Awakens opens in China, the world’s second biggest market, on January 9. The film was also the first movie to surpass $100 million in a single day. Universal critical raves also helped generate box-office sales.

The Force Awakens broke every major opening record in motion-picture box-office history. It opened on Dec. 18, 2015. Credit: © Lucasfilm, Ltd.

Made on a budget of $200 million, The Force Awakens was released in 2-D, 3-D, and IMAX 3-D. Advance ticket sales for the film began on October 19, and were in such strong demand that online movie ticket sites crashed. Presales broke every IMAX record, generating more than $6.5 million in domestic ticket sales. The film opened in about 390 IMAX screens in North America. Fans began camping out at Mann’s Chinese Theater in Hollywood two weeks before the film opened to get the best seats.

The Force Awakens is a continuation of the sci-fi fantasy saga created by George Lucas with Star Wars (1977). It is set 30 years after the events of Return of the Jedi (1983), the last film in the original “Star Wars” trilogy. Directed by J. J. Abrams, The Force Awakens features Harrison Ford (Han Solo), Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker), and Carrie Fisher (Princess Leia), reprising the massively popular characters they originated in Star Wars. Also reprising their roles from that film were Kenny Baker and Anthony Daniels as the robots R2-D2 and C-3PO, and Peter Mayhew as the giant furry warrior Chewbacca. The Force Awakens also featured up-and-coming British actors Daisy Ridley and John Boyega. Ridley played Rey, a young scavenger on a desert planet, and Boyega played Finn, a young stormtrooper (galactic soldier). The film was written by Abrams, Lawrence Kasdan, and Michael Arndt. Lucas served as creative consultant on the film.

The Force Awakens (also known as Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens) is the first film in a planned “Star Wars” sequel trilogy that was announced after Disney’s acquisition of Lucasfilm in 2012.

Additional World Book articles:

• Motion picture (1977) – A Back in Time article
• Motion picture (1978) – A Back in Time article
• Motion picture (1980) – A Back in Time article
• Motion picture (1983) – A Back in Time article
• Motion picture (1997) – A Back in Time article
• Motion picture (1999) – A Back in Time article
• Motion picture (2002) – A Back in Time article
• Motion picture (2005) – A Back in Time article