Star Wars Discussion Thread contains spoilers (and may contain nuts)

[Syt]

http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2016/01/star-wars-box-office-record

Star Wars: The Force Awakens has made more than $761 million at the domestic box office, not only besting Avatar to become the highest-grossing film of all time, but doing so at an astonishing pace. It took Avatar 34 weeks in theaters, plus a "special edition" re-release, to make the old record of $760.5 million; The Force Awakens did it in just 20 days, and some forecasters now expect it to cross the billion mark at home before all is said and done.

Worldwide, the record is within sight as well; Avatar remains the champion by a large margin, with $2.788 billion compared to The Force Awakens's $1.55, but time is on the side of J.J Abrams and company. The next global titan to beat will be The Avengers, and from there the newest Star Wars film has to get past one recent blockbuster (Jurassic World) and two James Cameron behemoths (Avatar and Titanic) to take its place as king of the world/galaxy.

It has a long, long way to go, though, before besting a very sentimental record: the domestic box office of the original Star Wars, adjusted for inflation. Studios don't like doing this, because it's much more fun to proclaim your film the biggest of all time, but the actual all-time record holder remains Gone With the Wind, which made a staggering $1.7 billion in American theaters alone. The second-place finisher when you make the inflation adjustment? Star Wars: A New Hope, with a gigantic $1.53 billion.

There's no saying The Force Awakens won't get there—and in doing so, would be the first film since Titanic to crack the top 10. At the rate it's going, no record seems beyond its galactic grasp.

UPDATE, 8:30 a.m.: Below a list, compiled by Disney, of all of the various domestic box office records The Force Awakens has broken thus far.

Fastest film to reach $100M (21 hours), $200M (3 days), $300M (5 days), $400M (8 days), $500M (10 days), $600M (12 days), and $700M (16 days)
Biggest all-time debut and biggest December debut ($247.966M), propelling the industry to the biggest overall moviegoing weekend of all time ($313.3M for all films, Dec. 18-20)
Biggest second weekend of all time ($149.2M), propelling the industry to the biggest overall Christmas weekend of all time ($296.4M for all films, Dec. 25-27)
Biggest third weekend of all time ($90.2M)
Biggest Thursday preview gross ($57M)
Biggest Friday, opening, and single day ($119.1M)
Biggest Sunday ($60.55M), Monday ($40.1M), and Tuesday ($37.3M)
Biggest Christmas Day ($49.3M) and New Year's Day ($34.39M)
Highest per-theater average for a wide debut ($59,982)
Biggest opening week ($390.85M)
Biggest IMAX debut ($30.1M)

[Syt]

Also, I didn't know that Jurassic World made so much money.

[lustindarkness]

Wow, that's a lot of $.

[The Larch]

In only 20 days Episode VII has dismantled Avatar's all time U.S. revenue record (Avatar needed 7 months for that).

Wow, they did go all out on advertisements but that's just insane. At least it's a better movie than Avatar so there's that.

I read an article about Avatar the other day basically saying how strange it is that such an extremely profitable movie has left barely no mark whatsoever on pop culture in the long run. They blamed Cameron for taking so long to do the announced sequels.

[Syt]

Considering the hype and fandom it briefly had it's indeed a bit surprising. I thought at the time that it created a fan response (and fanatacism) similar to what Star Wars (with people being depressed that they couldn't live there) had done, but then it quietly disappeared.

[The Larch]

Considering the hype and fandom it briefly had it's indeed a bit surprising. I thought at the time that it created a fan response (and fanatacism) similar to what Star Wars (with people being depressed that they couldn't live there) had done, but then it quietly disappeared.

It definitely ushered the era of 3d, gotta give Cameron that.

[Syt]

True, but it seems to be its only lasting impact for now. I mean, do you remember the names of the characters? I sure don't.

[The Larch]

True, but it seems to be its only lasting impact for now. I mean, do you remember the names of the characters? I sure don't.

I just check the development of the sequels and apparently they're scheduled for Christmas 2017 and 2018 (they had been originally scheduled for 2016 and 2017, but were pushed back one year ago). I'm a bit unsure if there's another one scheduled for 2019, as they talk about a trilogy, but I don't know if they're already taking into account the original one from 2009.

[lustindarkness]

True, but it seems to be its only lasting impact for now. I mean, do you remember the names of the characters? I sure don't.

I remember their names: naked blue people and the crippled marine.

[Liep]

Does anyone actually want to see a sequel? I'm not planning on it at least.

[viper37]

Does anyone actually want to see a sequel? I'm not planning on it at least.

When it comes on Blu-Ray and I can rent it for 4,50$? Why not

[Syt]

http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Ewan-McGregor-Being-Courted-Obi-Wan-Kenobi-Trilogy-71818.html

Ewan McGregor Being Courted For A New Obi-Wan Kenobi Trilogy

Since Disney bought out Lucasfilm back in 2012 and announced they were expanding the Star Wars universe far beyond anything we've ever seen, there has been a constant stream of rumors and speculation about what we might see in the future. One that just won't go away is a potential trilogy based on legendary Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi, and those rumors just got another boost.

There's been a lot of talk about the standalone spinoff movies lately, but while those are concrete, the idea of an Obi-Wan-centric series of movies has been more nebulous. Ewan McGregor is reportedly in talks with Disney for an unknown project, but according to Schmoes Know's sources, the discussions are specifically about him reprising his role as the venerable Jedi Knight. This is all super unconfirmed and unofficial in every way, so be sure to take it with a huge grain of salt, but it is an interesting proposition to consider.

It's possible he could show up as a Force ghost, popping in to advise Luke Skywalker on some important matter or another, but according to the source that's not the case and he's being recruited: not to be a force ghost, but for a post-Episode III Kenobi.

And again, they go on to mention the possibility that an entire Obi-Wan trilogy could be in the works. The Jedi is obviously a hugely important figure in the overall Star Wars mythology, and McGregor's performance, taking over the role from Alec Guinness, is one of the high points of the much-maligned prequel trilogy. So maybe this isn't actually as crazy as it initially sounds.

Should this come to pass, it appears it would exist outside of the Episode movies, like Star Wars: The Force Awakens, as well as the Anthology films, like Gareth Edwards' Rogue One. Especially as the latter films sound like they focusing on elements of the universe that aren't directly related to the Jedi and the Force.

There is definitely a lot of ground that could be explored, and many stories that fall into this general timeframe. Revenge of the Sith ends with Obi-Wan delivering an infant Luke to Owen and Beru on Tatooine, and we don't see him again until Luke is a teen. For a man on a mission, you know there are some awesome stories in these years.

A trilogy of films like this could serve to fill in some knowledge gaps in the franchise, which is something many of the new Star Wars properties seek to accomplish, as well as give fans more from one of their favorite characters. The post-Sith, pre-A New Hope era is also territory currently being covered by the animated Star Wars Rebels, where Obi-Wan has popped up, and we know that this is a time of great turmoil, strife, and change in that far away galaxy. If that doesn't have the makings of a potentially great story, what does?

That could be interesting. Ewan McGregor's Obi-Wan was one of the few highlights of the prequels

[celedhring]

I could go for that, McGregor's Obi Wan deserves to be in a decent Star Wars story. Not a trilogy though.

[derspiess]

Lobot is the dude on the right with the headgear.

I always got a Robert Duvall vibe from that dude.

[The Minsky Moment]

How come he wasn't issued a moustache, like the rest of Lando's guys?   Grandfathered in?