海角大神

After all the anticipation for the newest 鈥淪tar Wars鈥� film, 鈥淪tar Wars: The Force Awakens,鈥� its massive box office numbers in its debut weekend are most likely not a surprise.聽

鈥淔orce鈥� grossed about $247 million domestically after opening on Dec. 18. It set a worldwide record, grossing about $528 million.

By comparison, a recent movie that experienced huge success, this summer鈥檚 鈥淛urassic World,鈥� grossed more than $208 million domestically and $524 million worldwide when it opened.聽

The movie was the newest 鈥淪tar Wars鈥� movie in 10 years and the first in more than 30 to feature original series actors Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, and Mark Hamill.聽

Industry watchers are now wondering whether the newest 鈥淪tar Wars鈥� movie can beat the box office numbers held by director James Cameron鈥檚 films 鈥淎vatar,鈥� which came out in 2009, and 鈥淭itanic,鈥� which was released in 1997. The two are the highest- and second-highest-grossing movies of all time domestically, respectively (and not adjusted for inflation).

What makes these movies succeed? In order to attain these kinds of numbers, a movie must appeal to multiple demographics and perhaps even attract repeat visitors (鈥淭itanic鈥� in particular is famous for people having gone to see it more than once).聽

Will 鈥淪tar Wars鈥� have moviegoers coming back? Positive reviews and reactions from fans may mean that those enjoyed the story will return. After bad buzz for the movie, it鈥檚 doubtful that many moviegoers returned to see, for example, the 1999 鈥淪tar Wars鈥� movie 鈥淪tar Wars: Episode I 鈥� The Phantom Menace.鈥澛�

In addition, it seems that 鈥淔orce鈥� has attracted demographically diverse audience members already. The audience for the movie this past weekend was 66 percent male and 47 percent were under the age of 25, according to movie data tracking company Rentrak. That last number shows that the movie didn鈥檛 attract only viewers who can remember when the last movie with Ford, Fisher, and Hamill, 1983鈥檚 鈥淪tar Wars: Episode VI 鈥� Return of the Jedi,鈥� was in theaters.聽

If 鈥淪tar Wars鈥� can beat both 鈥淭itanic鈥� and 鈥淎vatar鈥� to become the highest-grossing movie of all time, it will have been a movie that became a success after capitalizing on previous popularity for a series 鈥� a move similar to the success for "Jurassic World," which is now the third-highest-grossing film of all time domestically. By contrast, 鈥淭itanic鈥� and 鈥淎vatar鈥� were both movies that succeeded more with the power of word-of-mouth. 鈥淭itanic鈥� is, of course, based on historical events, but its characters are original and 鈥淎vatar鈥� is an original story. In both cases, the movies鈥� groundbreaking special effects no doubt attracted interest.聽

By contrast, 鈥淪tar Wars鈥� represents the culmination of almost 40 years of a successful movie series. The 鈥淪tar Wars鈥� fanbase seems to have only grown over the years. After a prequel film trilogy that was poorly received by most fans, there was enormous appetite for a 鈥淪tar Wars鈥� movie that was done well.