“Star Wars: The Force Awakens” is arguably the most anticipated movie of the year, but it’s not expected to break the record for widest opening weekend.
This latest installment of Star Wars opens on Friday with preview showings on Thursday night. It will be released in about 4,100 theaters, TheWrap reports, not even breaking into the top 25 widest opening weekend rollouts. The current record-holder is “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse” opening in 4,465 theaters when it came out in June 2010.
This year alone, “The Force Awakens” will likely be beat by “Minions,” which opened in 4,301 theaters, and “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2,” which opened in 4,175 theaters. However, Star Wars’ 4,100-theater opening weekend is a record for December.
Some of the most successful movies have been released in December, including “Avatar,” “Titanic,” and “Lord of the Rings,” but opening weekends for summer movies tend to perform much better.
Aside from the time of year, there are several other interferences. The movie will be seeing competition from others opening at the same time, including the Tina Fey-Amy Poehler comedy “Sisters.” Pre-Christmas shopping and traveling may also take priority that weekend, since it’s just a week before the holiday. Younger fans likely won’t make it to opening weekend, considering 85% of U.S. students get out of school the following week.
However, opening weekend does not necessarily mirror a movie’s long-term success. If the previous movies are any indicator, “The Force Awakens” won’t be forgotten very quickly. And, bearing in mind the timing of its release, the second weekend is expected to be just as lucrative as the first. As Paul Dergarabedian, a senior analyst at Rentrak, told TheWrap, “a large amount of the population will be free to head to the movies” when it begins its second week on Christmas Day.
