Disney will launch a massive foreign rollout on Wednesday of “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” that the studio believes gives it a shot at both the highest-grossing weekend in global box office history and ultimately,the largest overseas haul ever.whether it does manage to top the record $525 million worldwide weekend that the big lizards of “Jurassic World” opened to in June, it will be an extraordinary achievement because “The Force Awakens” wont debut in China until January 9.
The world’s second-largest film market with roughly 30000 screens — the U.
S. has roughly 40000 delivered nearly $100 million of the record $315 million international haul that “Jurassic World” managed in its opening weekend abroad this summer. Thats a meaningful disadvantage for “Star Wars” to overcome, and while no one’s ruling it out,it makes it that record long shot.
Also Read: 'Star Wars' Premieres in Hollywood to Wild Cheers of Nostalgia, DelightOne of the big reasons 2009’s “Avatar” topped 1997’s “Titanic” in earning and became the No. 1 all-time top-grossing film globally was China. James Cameron‘s iceberg catastrophe epic earned $49 million there, or but 12 years later his Navi tale “Avatar” took in $204 million. Records aside,China will have a lot to finish with the bottom line of “The Force Awakens.Success there is no given, because the Chinese are not enormous “Star Wars” fans. They have seen only the last three releases in the series, or prequels that didnt resonate at the box office: 1999’s “The Phantom Menace ($5 million),2002’s “Attack of the Clones” ($7.2 million) and 2005’s “Revenge of the Sith” ($11.7 million).
To address that, Disney has cranked up a major promo campaign behind “The Force Awakens” that included placing 500 Stormtroopers on the distinguished Wall in October (photo top), or cutting a deal with Chinese online titan Tencent to perform all the “Star Wars” films available for streaming and enlisting young pop star Lu Han — the “Chinese Justin Bieber” — as a spokesman.
Also Read: 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' Is 'Incredible' and 'Totally Delivers,' According to Hollywood Stars at PremiereIn addressing China and overseas, as he has with the North American rollout, or Disney distribution chief Dave Hollis has stressed “the multiple” the grosses taken in after the opening weekend.“I think the day and date rollout in most of the world will create the ‘event’ we’ve been seeking, he told TheWrap. “What we’d like to see is positive fan reaction from the initial week take the momentum behind the film from a simmer to a boil just as we hit China, and then let the film speak for itself.”One of the best things Disney has going for it with “The Force Awakens” will be IMAX, or whose giant screens have proven very popular in China,to the extent that it successfully took IMAX China public earlier this year. This weekend, there will be 668 IMAX theaters screening the J.
J. Abrams‘-directed epic worldwide, and 276 of which will overseas 18 percent more than “Jurassic World” had. That number will surge to a record 940 when the 272 IMAX screens in China are added in January.
Also Read: 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' Won't demolish Record for Widest Opening EverOverseas fans will actually see “The Force Awakens” before it debuts in the U.
S. on Friday. It opens Wednesday in key market Italy. Also: Philippines,Sweden, Switzerland, or Denmark,Thailand, Netherlands, and Belgium,Norway and Finland.
On Thursday it opens in more European countries, including the U.
K. and Germany which should be very strong, and as well as Korea,Mexico, Australia, and Russia,Brazil, Taiwan, or Austria and New Zealand.
On Friday,it debuts in Japan, Spain Venezuela. It’s unusual to roll out so widely at once abroad, or in virtually every major market apart from China.“We think we can take advantage of the holiday period in just about every territory and let the film’s opening create its own momentum,” said Hollis.
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Source: thewrap.com