Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Star Wars creator George Lucas discussed ideas for a sequel trilogy several times after the conclusion of the original trilogy, but denied any intent to make it.[72] In October 2012, he sold his production company Lucasfilm to The Walt Disney Company.[73] Speaking alongside Lucasfilm's new president, Kathleen Kennedy, Lucas said: "I always said I wasn't going to do any more and that's true, because I'm not going to do any more, but that doesn't mean I'm unwilling to turn it over to Kathy to do more."[74]

As creative consultant on the film, Lucas attended early story meetings and advised on the details of the Star Wars universe.[73] Among the materials he turned over to the production team were his rough story treatments for Episodes VII–IX, which Lucas requested be read only by Kennedy, Bob Iger, Alan F. Horn, and Kevin A. Mayer.[75] Lucas later said Disney had discarded his story ideas[76][77] and that he had no further involvement with the film.[78] Lucas' son Jett told The Guardian that his father was "very torn" about having sold the rights to the franchise and that his father was "there to guide" but that "he wants to let it go and become its new generation".[79]

From left to right: producer Kathleen Kennedy, writer and director J. J. Abrams, and writer Lawrence Kasdan speaking at 2015 San Diego Comic-Con

The Force Awakens' first screenplay was written by Michael Arndt.[80] Early drafts had Luke Skywalker appear midway through the film, but Arndt found that "every time Luke came in and entered the movie, he just took it over. Suddenly you didn't care about your main character anymore."[81] The writers decided to use Luke as the film's MacGuffin and, as something that the protagonists needed to find, would not appear in person until the final scene.[81] Arndt also developed some backstory elements for the returning characters from the original trilogy, such as how Leia was instrumental in rebuilding the Republic after the fall of the Empire before being discredited when it was publicly revealed that her biological father was Darth Vader (this would go on to become a central plot point in the canonical novel Star Wars: Bloodline).[82]

Several directors were considered, including David Fincher,[83] Brad Bird,[84] Jon Favreau,[85] and Guillermo del Toro;[86] after a suggestion by Steven Spielberg to Kennedy,[87] J. J. Abrams was named director in January 2013, with Lawrence Kasdan and Simon Kinberg as project consultants.[88][89] Arndt worked on the script for eight months, but said he needed 18 more, which was more time than Disney or Abrams could give him.[90] The production announced Arndt's exit from the project on October 24, 2013, and Kasdan and Abrams took over script duties.[91] Abrams expressed relief that the release date was announced for December 2015 instead of a previously discussed summer release.[92] He and Kasdan planned the story while walking in Santa Monica, New York City, Paris, and London. The first draft was completed in six weeks.[93] Abrams said the key to the film was [returned] to the roots of the first Star Wars films and be based more on emotion than explanation.[94] In January 2014, Abrams confirmed that the script was complete.[95] In April 2014, Lucasfilm clarified that Episodes VII–IX would not feature storylines from the Star Wars expanded universe, though other elements could be included, as with the TV series Star Wars Rebels.[96]

Abrams stated that he purposely withheld some plot elements from The Force Awakens, such as Rey and Finn's last names and backgrounds. Kennedy admitted that "we haven't mapped out every single detail [of the sequel trilogy] yet", but said that Abrams was collaborating with The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson, and that Johnson would work with The Rise of Skywalker's then-director Colin Trevorrow to ensure a smooth transition and that "everybody's got a say in how we move forward with this".[97] Daisy Ridley later recounted that J. J. Abrams had written drafts for episodes 8 and 9.[98]

A fictional language was developed for use in the film by YouTube star Sara Forsberg, who created the viral video series "What Languages Sound Like To Foreigners"; Forsberg developed the language by studying various languages, such as Hindi and Gujarati.[99]

In November 2015, Lucas recorded an hour-long interview with CBS News reporter Charlie Rose in which he said Disney had not been "keen" to involve him and conceded: "If I get in there, I'm just going to cause trouble because they're not going to do what I want them to do, and I don't have the control to do that any more, and all it would do is just muck everything up."[100] He also said, "They wanted to do a retro movie. I don't like that. Every movie, I worked very hard to make them different [...] I made them completely different—different planets, different spaceships to make it new."[101][102] In early December 2015, Kathleen Kennedy told The Hollywood Reporter that Lucas had seen the movie and "liked it".[103] In the same month, at the Kennedy Center Honors, Lucas stated, "I think the fans are going to love it, It's very much the kind of movie they've been looking for."[104] Abrams felt that, as the first in a new trilogy, the film "needed to take a couple of steps backwards into very familiar terrain" and use plot elements from previous Star Wars films.[105]

In May 2013, it was confirmed that The Force Awakens would be filmed in the United Kingdom.[106] Representatives from Lucasfilm met with Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne to agree to produce The Force Awakens in the UK.[106] Osborne committed £25 million of public money towards the film, claiming it was a boost for British culture and its film industry.[107] According to production company account filings in the United Kingdom, The Force Awakens ultimately received a total of £31.6 million ($47.4 million) from the government.[3][108]

Beginning in September 2013, production spaces at the Bad Robot facility were converted for shooting of The Force Awakens for the benefit of shooting a minor portion of the film in the United States.[109] The film's costume designer was Michael Kaplan, who had previously worked with Abrams on the films Star Trek (2009) and Star Trek Into Darkness (2013).[110] Film editors Mary Jo Markey and Maryann Brandon, long-term collaborators with Abrams, were also signed.[111] In August 2013, it was announced that cinematographer Daniel Mindel would be shooting the film on 35 mm film (specifically Kodak 5219).[112] In October 2013, other crew members were confirmed, including sound designer Ben Burtt, director of photography Mindel, production designers Rick Carter and Darren Gilford, costume designer Michael Kaplan, special effects supervisor Chris Corbould, re-recording mixer Gary Rydstrom, supervising sound editor Matthew Wood, visual effects supervisors Roger Guyett, and executive producer Jason McGatlin.[113][114]

Open auditions were held in the United Kingdom and the United States in November 2013 for the roles of Rachel and Thomas.[115] Casting began in earnest in January 2014, because of changes to the script by Kasdan and Abrams.[116] Screen tests with actors continued until at least three weeks before the official announcement in April 2014, with final casting decisions made only a few weeks earlier. Actors testing had strict nondisclosure agreements, preventing them, their agents or their publicists from commenting on their involvement.[16] Though Lucas intimated that previous cast members Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford, and Mark Hamill would return for the new film as early as March 2013,[73] their casting was not confirmed until over a year later.[5] Saoirse Ronan,[117] Michael B. Jordan,[118] Lupita Nyong'o[119] and Frida Gustavsson,[120] auditioned for new characters; industry publications reported Jesse Plemons was considered, possibly for Luke Skywalker's son;[121] Adam Driver for an unnamed villain;[12] and Maisie Richardson-Sellers for an unknown character.[122]

Daisy Ridley was cast by February 2014, and by the end of that month a deal had been worked out with Driver, who was able to work around his Girls schedule. Talks with Andy Serkis and Oscar Isaac began by March and continued into April. That same month, John Boyega began talks after dropping out of a Jesse Owens biopic.[16] Denis Lawson, who played Wedge Antilles in the original trilogy, declined to reprise his role, saying it would have "bored" him.[123]

In April, the cast was announced with a photo of the first table read of the script at Pinewood Studios near London, picturing director Abrams with Ford, Ridley, Fisher, Peter Mayhew, producer Bryan Burk, Lucasfilm president and producer Kathleen Kennedy, Domhnall Gleeson, Anthony Daniels, Hamill, Serkis, Isaac, Boyega, Driver, and writer Lawrence Kasdan.[5] In June, cast additions Lupita Nyong'o and Gwendoline Christie were announced.[21] To prepare for his role, Hamill was assigned a personal trainer and a nutritionist at the request of the producers, who wanted him to resemble an older Luke.[124] Fisher was also assigned a personal trainer and a nutritionist.[124] Abrams initially considered using Daniels only in a voice role for C-3PO,[125] but Daniels opted to reprise the role physically as well; the production team built a new C-3PO costume to accommodate him.[126] A flashback scene was cut from Rey's vision (following her discovery of Luke's lightsaber), which would have featured Robert Boulter standing in for Luke as he appeared in his duel with Vader in The Empire Strikes Back.[127]

In May, Abrams announced a donation contest for UNICEF from the Star Wars set in Abu Dhabi; the winner was allowed to visit the set, meet members of the cast and appear in the film.[128] In October, Warwick Davis, who played Wicket in Return of the Jedi, as well as Wald and Weazle in The Phantom Menace (1999), announced that he would appear in The Force Awakens, but did not reveal his role.[129] In November, Debbie Reynolds confirmed that her granddaughter (Fisher's daughter), Billie Lourd, was in the film.[52]

The Rub' Al Khali desert around Liwa Oasis in the United Arab Emirates was used as filming location for planet Jakku

In February 2014, Abrams said filming would begin in May and last about three months.[94] The official announcement came in March, when Disney and Lucasfilm announced that principal photography would commence in May and be based at Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire, England.[130] That month, it was revealed that pre-production filming would take place in Iceland prior to the start of official filming in May, consisting of landscape shots that would be used for scenery in the film.[131] In April, Walt Disney Studios chairman Alan Horn confirmed that filming had begun,[132] filming in secret in the United Arab Emirates around Liwa Oasis, part of the emirate of Abu Dhabi, by a second unit.[133] Later that month, it was revealed that in addition to 35 mm film, segments of the film were being shot in the 65 mm IMAX format.[134] In July, Bad Robot reported via Twitter that the film would be at least partially shot on IMAX cameras.[135]

On May 4, 2014, the studio posted a selfie taken by Disney CEO Bob Iger with an unidentified actor in a Chewbacca costume.[136] Iger said the photo was taken when he visited Pinewood Studios two weeks earlier to discuss the shoot, "which was just about to start", with Abrams, Kennedy, and Horn.[137] Principal photography began in Abu Dhabi on May 16, 2014.[138] Abrams and the cast members went to Abu Dhabi in early-May, where large sets were built on location—including a shuttle-like spacecraft, a large tower, and a big market—and where explosives were used to create a "blast crater". Cast members were spotted practicing driving vehicles that would be used during filming.[139] Production moved to Pinewood Studios in June.[140]

Skellig Michael in Ireland (top) and former RAF Greenham Common in England served as filming locations

That same month, Harrison Ford fractured his leg while filming at Pinewood after a hydraulic door on the Millennium Falcon set fell on him, and was taken to a hospital. According to Abrams, Ford's ankle "went to a 90-degree angle".[90] Production was suspended for two weeks because of Ford's injury.[141] Ford's son Ben said the ankle would likely need a plate and screws and that filming could be altered slightly, with the crew needing to shoot Ford from the waist up for a short time until he recovered.[142] A month later, Jake Steinfeld, Ford's personal trainer, said Ford was recovering rapidly.[143] Abrams also suffered a fractured vertebra in his back when he was trying to help lift the door after Ford's accident,[90] but he kept this to himself for over a month.[144] In February 2016, it was reported that the Health and Safety Executive brought four criminal charges against Disney subsidiary Foodles Production (UK), Ltd. for alleged health and safety breaches relating to Ford's accident.[145] Foodles Production (UK) Ltd was subsequently fined $1.95 million in October 2016 for two health and safety breaches, after admitting the counts at an earlier hearing.[146]

In July 2014, filming took place over three days at Skellig Michael, an island off the coast of County Kerry, Ireland, with a cast including Mark Hamill and Daisy Ridley.[147] Landscape shots for the planet Takodana were shot in July in the Lake District in the northwest of England.[148] Production was halted for two weeks in early August 2014 so Abrams could rework shooting in Ford's absence and resumed with a fully healed Ford in mid-August.[149][150] In September, the former RAF Greenham Common military base in Berkshire was used and featured set constructions of several spaceships.[151][152] Puzzlewood in the Forest of Dean Gloucestershire England was used for some scenes.[153] Principal photography ended on November 3, 2014.[154]

Bad Robot Productions headquarters in Santa Monica, where Abrams supervised post-production of the film

Cinematographer Dan Mindel said The Force Awakens would use real locations and scale models over computer-generated imagery to make it aesthetically similar to the original Star Wars trilogy.[155] Rian Johnson, director of The Last Jedi, reiterated that Abrams would use little CGI and more practical, traditional special effects, saying: "I think people are coming back around to [practical effects]. It feels like there is sort of that gravity pulling us back toward it. I think that more and more people are hitting kind of a critical mass in terms of the CG-driven action scene lending itself to a very specific type of action scene, where physics go out the window and it becomes so big so quick."[156] Abrams' intention in prioritizing practical special effects was to recreate the visual realism and authenticity of the original Star Wars.[157] To that end, the droid BB-8 was a physical prop developed by Disney Research,[158] created by special effects artist Neal Scanlan and operated live on set with the actors.[159][160]

In February 2014, Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) announced plans to open a facility in London, citing Disney's Star Wars films as a catalyst for the expansion. ILM's Vancouver branch also worked on the special effects for the film.[161] Abrams supervised post-production and editing of the film at Bad Robot Productions' headquarters in Santa Monica.[90] In August 2015, he gave the film's estimated running time as 124 minutes.[162] Abrams made changes to the film's plot in the editing process to simplify the film, by removing some sequences shown in trailers: "At one point, Maz used to continue along with the characters back to the Resistance base, but we realised that she really had nothing to do there of value [...] So we ended up leaving those things out."[163]

On November 6, 2014, the film's title was announced as Star Wars: The Force Awakens.[164] In December 2015, Pablo Hidalgo, the creative executive at the Lucasfilm Story Group which handles all the canonical continuity for the Star Wars universe, revealed that the working title for the film was Shadow of the Empire "for the longest time".[165]

In July 2013, John Williams was confirmed to return to compose the sequel trilogy, beginning with The Force Awakens.[167] He began working on the film in December 2014, and by June 2015 had been through most of the film reels, working on a daily basis.[168][169] In May 2015, Williams said he would return to themes from the previous films, such as those for Luke, Leia, and Han, in ways that "there are a few that I think are important and will seem very much a part of the fabric of the piece in a positive and constructive way." He said that working with Abrams was similar to the process he went through with Lucas in the earlier films.[166]

Recording sessions for The Force Awakens began in June 2015 at the Sony Pictures Studios' Barbra Streisand Scoring Stage in Culver City, with William Ross conducting most of the music.[170] The first day of recording was June 1, 2015.[171] Williams attended the sessions and conducted the remainder of the recordings in Los Angeles.[172][173]

The score was recorded in 12 sessions within a five-month period between June and mid-November. The 90-piece orchestra recorded 175 minutes of music; however, Abrams reedited the film, which discarded, modified, or rerecorded the score's part for nearly an hour. Williams' theme for Snoke was recorded by a 24-voice men's chorus.[174] Gustavo Dudamel conducted the opening and end title music for the film at Williams' behest.[175] Recording of the score was completed on November 14, 2015.[176] The film's soundtrack was released by Walt Disney Records on December 18, 2015.[177] Williams' score is more than two hours long.[169]

Lin-Manuel Miranda and Abrams contributed music to the film's cantina scene. Abrams met Miranda at a performance of his Broadway musical Hamilton, where Miranda jokingly offered to compose cantina music, should it be needed. Unknown to Miranda, Williams had previously told Abrams that he did not want to compose the music for that scene, wanting to focus on the orchestral score. Abrams then contacted Miranda, and the two collaborated on the music for the scene over a period of two months.[178]

Disney backed The Force Awakens with extensive marketing campaigns.[179][180] On November 28, 2014, Lucasfilm released an 88-second teaser trailer. It was screened in selected cinemas across the United States and Canada and in theaters worldwide in December 2014. It was also released on YouTube and the iTunes Store,[181] generating 58.2 million views on YouTube in its first week.[182] Critics compared the brief footage favorably to the production values of the original trilogy. The Hollywood Reporter called the trailer "perfectly potent nostalgia", praising its mix of old and new.[183] Empire was impressed by the continuity with the first films—"the feel of classic Star Wars"—but noted the absence of Hamill, Ford, and Fisher and speculated about the significance of the new characters.[184] The Guardian wrote that the use of the Star Wars fanfare by John Williams reinforced brand loyalty among fans.[185]

Large-scale outdoor advertising for Star Wars: The Force Awakens in the city center of Nuremberg, Germany

On December 11, 2014, Abrams and Kennedy released a series of eight mock Topps trading cards revealing the names of several characters.[186] On April 16, 2015, a second teaser trailer, this one lasting two minutes, was shown at the opening panel at the Star Wars Celebration in Anaheim, California. Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy said the reaction to the trailer was "staggering [...] the entire room of almost eight thousand people just leapt to their feet and roared, I mean I can't think of anything I've ever been to—other than a rock concert—that felt quite like that".[187] The trailer was viewed over 88 million times within the first 24 hours of release.[188][189] The trailer shows many of the new characters and the first footage of Chewbacca and Han Solo. The Huffington Post's Graham Milne wrote that the trailer "was an affirmation of something that we'd long been told was never going to happen. This was a gift. This was faith rewarded. About damn time."[190]

Vanity Fair was the first magazine to release an exclusive cover issue devoted to The Force Awakens. The magazine, released on May 7, 2015, featured exclusive interviews and photos of the cast photographed by Annie Leibovitz.[191][192] At the 2015 San Diego Comic-Con International, in addition to a panel with many of the actors, a behind-the-scenes look at the film demonstrated the film's use of practical sets and effects. It was positively received, with Nigel M. Smith of The Guardian writing: "The featurette's angle is a strong one and connects with fans of the original trilogy in an incredibly poignant way. It also does a sly job of teasing Fisher's new look as Leia and Simon Pegg's mysterious involvement as a rumored alien in the movie, without actually showing the actors in action." Smith compared the marketing strategy for the film to that of a previous Abrams film, Super 8, saying "the promos [...] are notable for what they tease, not what they give away."[193]

Walt Disney Studios and Lucasfilm presented a look at The Force Awakens at Disney's D23 Expo in August 2015.[194] Drew Struzan—who designed the poster artwork for the previous Star Wars films—produced a commemorative poster given to the event's attendees.[195] In October 2015, Lucasfilm unveiled the theatrical release poster and a third trailer.[196] The poster omitted Luke Skywalker and revealed a Death Star-like "orb".[197] The trailer debuted during the halftime break of Monday Night Football, before being released online.[198] The reaction to the trailer by fans on social media was "frenzied", with Lizo Mzimba of the BBC writing that "perhaps the most significant thing about the final trailer before the film's release is how little of the story it reveals."[199] Robbie Collin of The Daily Telegraph felt the trailer was "a perfect blend of old and new, in keeping with the old-fashioned Star Wars aesthetic".[200] The trailer received 128 million views in 24 hours. 16 million of the views came from its airing on Monday Night Football.[201] At the end of October, Air France announced a "Flight and Cinema" package, providing customers who book select flights to Paris transportation to a theater to see the film, since France was one of the first countries to release the film.[202] On November 23, a partnership with Google was announced, in which Google users could choose to affiliate themselves with either the Dark or Light Side, which would change the appearance of their Google websites. Additionally, Disney teamed up with Verizon to create a virtual-reality experience for Google Cardboard.[203]

On December 17, 2015, select theaters across the United States and Canada aired a Star Wars marathon, airing the six previous Star Wars episode films in 2D, followed by The Force Awakens in 3D. Attendees received a special lanyard featuring exclusive marathon art.[204]

Disney Publishing Worldwide and Lucasfilm announced a series of at least 20 books and comics, "Journey to Star Wars: The Force Awakens", which were released by multiple publishers starting in late 2015, prior to the film's premiere. The series includes books by Del Rey and Disney-Lucasfilm publishers and comic books from Marvel Comics. All titles under the program are canonical to the Star Wars universe.[205] Alan Dean Foster wrote a novelization of The Force Awakens which was released in e-book form on December 18.[206] In an effort to avoid revealing plot details before the film's release, the print release of the novelization was delayed until January 2016.[206] Marvel Comics published a six-issue comic book adaptation of The Force Awakens between June and November 2016.[207]

Disney Consumer Products and Lucasfilm announced that September 4, 2015 would be deemed "Force Friday" and would be the official launch of all the merchandise for The Force Awakens. Beginning at 12:01 am, fans could buy toys, books, clothing and various other products at Disney Stores and other retailers throughout the world.[208] Disney and Maker Studios hosted an 18-hour live-streaming presentation on YouTube, showcasing multiple merchandise products beginning on September 3, 2015.[209][210] Among these products were a remote-controlled BB-8 developed by Sphero.[158] Sphero had participated in a Disney-run startup accelerator in July 2014, where they were invited into a private meeting with Disney CEO Bob Iger, in which they were shown on-set photos and imagery of BB-8 before its public unveiling.[211][212] Many retailers, such as Toys "R" Us, were unable to meet demand for Star Wars products due to the event.[213]

The Force Awakens is the first Star Wars film to not have a direct tie-in game to accompany it.[214] Instead, select characters, scenes and/or locations from the film became part of other Star Wars video games: Characters from the film were added to an update to the mobile game Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes, available for iOS and Android and released by Electronic Arts;[215] free downloadable content for Electronic Arts' Star Wars Battlefront reboot allowed players to battle on the planet Jakku;[216] an update to the mobile game Star Wars Commander, released by Disney Mobile for iOS, Android and the Windows Store, allowed players to battle on the planet Takodana during the Galactic Civil War era;[217] and a condensed version of the film's plot becomes an add-on "playset" in the toys-to-life game Disney Infinity 3.0, with Finn and Rey becoming its starting characters. Poe Dameron and Kylo Ren are playable add-on characters.[218] Eventually, the film got a full Lego video game adaptation, titled Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which was released by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment for Microsoft Windows, Nintendo 3DS, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Wii U, Xbox 360, and Xbox One on June 28, 2016.[219]

The premiere tent, with the film's poster above

Star Wars: The Force Awakens premiered in Los Angeles at the TCL Chinese Theatre, El Capitan Theatre, and Dolby Theatre on December 14, 2015.[220] A white tent stretched along Hollywood Boulevard from Orange Drive to Highland Avenue, covering the "massive" premiere event that hosted more than five thousand guests.[221] The film was released in 12 countries, including European nations (such as Italy and France), the Philippines, and Thailand on December 16; 32 countries including the United Kingdom, Mexico, and additional European, Asian, African, South American, and Oceania countries on December 17; and in the United States and Canada, Japan, Spain, and Venezuela on December 18,[222] in 3D and IMAX 3D.[223] It was released in India on December 25[224] and in China on January 9, 2016.[222]

In the United States and Canada, it had the widest release of December across 4,134 theaters,[225] of which 3,300 were 3D locations, a record 392 IMAX screens (13 of which were 70mm), 451 premium large format screens, 146 D-Box locations,[226][227] as well as releasing in the Dolby Vision format (high-dynamic range, Rec. 2020 color) in Dolby Cinema.[228] Worldwide, it was released across 940 IMAX theaters, a new record.[227] On December 18, 2015, the film began playing on every IMAX screen in the United States and Canada for four straight weeks up to January 14, 2016. This made it the first film since Warner Bros.' The Hobbit trilogy to receive such a release.[229] The film finally shed some of its IMAX screens with the release of The Revenant (2015) and The Finest Hours (2016) in mid-January 2016.[230]

Advance ticket sales for the film began on October 19, 2015,[231] and were in strong demand, resulting in online movie ticket sites crashing.[232][233] Vue Cinemas, the United Kingdom's third-largest theater chain, sold 45,000 tickets in 24 hours, 10,000 of which were sold in 90 minutes, a record for the theater.[234] In the United States, the film pre-sold a record-breaking $6.5 million worth of IMAX ticket sales on a single day. IMAX has never previously registered more than $1 million in pre-sales on a single day.[235] In total, it sold over $50 million in pre-sales, breaking the record.[236][237] This number was raised to $100 million including $50–60 million in advance ticket sales by December 14.[237][238] However, not all tickets that were pre-sold were for the film's opening weekend, with Fandango President Paul Yanover saying "people have set aside tickets for screenings in January, weeks after the big opening [...] We have people buying Star Wars [The Force Awakens] into 2016. It's not just an opening-weekend phenomenon."[236] Similarly, the film broke pre-sales records in the UK,[239] Canada,[240] and Germany.[241]

The film is the first live-action Star Wars film not to be released theatrically by 20th Century Fox; accordingly the film is not introduced with either that company's logo, or its signature fanfare composed by Alfred Newman.[242] Instead, the film is the first in the series to be distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures,[4] and the film is presented with only Lucasfilm's production logo shown silently before the main titles;[243] Disney chairman Bob Iger explained the change by saying it was "for the fans".[244]

Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment released Star Wars: The Force Awakens via download and Disney Movies Anywhere on April 1, 2016, with a Blu-ray and DVD release on April 5.[245] The home media release contains additional footage, with eight bonus features.[246] As with the videodisc releases of all of the first six films in the saga, the videodisc release of The Force Awakens splits the film into fifty chapters.[247]

A Blu-ray 3D "collector's edition" of the film was released on November 15, 2016, including all the features of the original home releases, as well as several new bonus features, including new deleted scenes and audio commentary by director J. J. Abrams. The package includes a Blu-ray 3D, regular Blu-ray, DVD, and digital copy of the film, as well as an additional Blu-ray disc for the bonus features.[248] The 4K version of the film was later re-released in "The Skywalker Saga" 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray box set on March 31, 2020.[249]

Star Wars: The Force Awakens grossed $936.7 million in the United States and Canada, and $1.132 billion in other countries for a worldwide total of $2.068 billion.[4] Box Office Mojo estimates that the film sold close to 110 million tickets in the United States and Canada.[250] The Force Awakens earned 8.6% of the total 2015 releases in the United States and Canada, second only to the 8.8% of the box office earned by Titanic in 1997.[251] It was the 24th film in cinematic history to gross $1 billion worldwide, standing as the fastest film to surpass the mark at the time, doing so in 12 days.[252] It was also the third film in history to surpass $2 billion worldwide, doing so on its 53rd day of release.[253] Deadline Hollywood calculated the net profit of the film to be $780.1 million, when factoring together all expenses and revenues for the film, making it the most profitable film of 2015 and the most profitable film in the last seven years.[254][255]

With a production budget of $306 million,[2] plus $175 million for marketing, printing and advertising costs, The Force Awakens was predicted to be a major box office success.[256] The cost of the film was subsidized by £31.6 million (US$47 million) from the UK film incentive program.[108] Total costs, after accounting for profit participations, production and distribution of home videos, as well as other ancillary mediums, is expected to run $423 million.[257] Reports in April 2015 from The Hollywood Reporter and Amboee Brand Intelligence predicted the film would earn up to $540 million worldwide for its opening, breaking the record for the biggest worldwide opening, as well as breaking the record for the biggest U.S. opening. They believed that The Force Awakens would have the widest release ever, across 4,500 theaters in the United States and Canada.[258] Instead, it received a total of 4,134 theaters, and had the widest December opening.[225] Box office analyst Phil Contrino likened the film to Avatar (2009), which opened to $77 million in the United States and Canada and went on to earn $2.8 billion worldwide, saying The Force Awakens would earn $1 billion "without blinking" and could gross $2 billion.[258] In August 2015, Deadline Hollywood predicted an opening weekend of $615 million worldwide could be possible, including a $300 million opening in the United States and Canada.[259] Months prior to the film's release, box office analysts reported opening weekend projections were at $175–250 million.[226][260][261]

Analysts said that the box office receipts of the film, when compared to predecessors, must be adjusted for inflation, and that the first Star Wars film made more when this adjustment is made.[262] It has further been observed that each of the first three films in the series was more profitable in calculating revenue against production costs.[262] Box office analyst Paul Dergarabedian said that while Avatar and The Force Awakens were both released on the same date of December 18, higher ticket prices in 2015 and IMAX screenings could push Star Wars "into the box office stratosphere".[263] On December 23, Mark Hughes of Forbes stated that The Force Awakens had matched the most optimistic projections for its opening, and he predicted that The Force Awakens would likely surpass Titanic as the second-highest-grossing film of all time. He commented that The Force Awakens could catch Avatar as the top-grossing film of all time, but only if it managed to avoid major week-to-week declines in ticket sales.[264]

By January 13, analysts concluded that it was unlikely that The Force Awakens would surpass Avatar's global gross.[265][266] While The Force Awakens was very successful in the United States and Canada, the same success was not witnessed in many overseas individual markets such as Germany, India, Latin America, and parts of Asia. One cited reason for this is that overseas audiences do not have the same nostalgia or affinity for the film as those in the U.S.[265][266][267] The Star Wars franchise has traditionally lacked resonance with filmgoers in China, and marketing for The Force Awakens heavily focused on appealing to that market.[266][268] Pamela McClintock of The Hollywood Reporter stated that, for these territories, Star Wars "doesn't have the same legacy as it does in the United States and Canada and more mature markets. It's also a faster burn, meaning it likely won't stay in theaters as long as Avatar did."[265] Dergarabedian said, "As in all box-office trajectories, the higher the altitude, the tougher it becomes to rack up sales at the kind of breakneck pace as in the beginning of the run."[265]

Nancy Tartaglione of Deadline Hollywood argued that, if accounting for its 40/60 domestic to international split, The Force Awakens did well overseas.[267] Avatar did well internationally because of its novelty, the marketing campaign advertising it as showcasing the newest 3D technology that can only be fully appreciated in the theaters, and because of its extended time in overseas theaters.[266] While The Force Awakens had appeal with its special effects, analysts felt that it lacked the novelty factor; they also cited that its gross was stilted due to markets making way for new films sooner than was previously done, and for films not playing in overseas theaters as long as they did back when Avatar was released.[266] Dergarabedian stated, "No matter what, [The Force Awakens] is an absolute, all-out blockbuster without peer in terms of the sheer speed at which it has crossed all of these major box-office milestones."[265] Moreover, Mike Fleming of Deadline Hollywood argued that the movie was the "most valuable movie" of the year, with "the net profit to Disney was an astounding $780.11M, and the Cash on Cash Return was twice that of any other film [released in 2016], at 2.00".[269]

In the United States and Canada, The Force Awakens was released on December 18, 2015. It made a record-breaking $57 million from Thursday night previews,[N 2] of which IMAX screenings generated a record-breaking $5.7 million from 391 screens.[273] On its opening day, the film grossed $119.1 million, marking the biggest single- and opening-day record[274] and the first time a film has earned more than $100 million in a single day.[275] Without Thursday-night grosses, the film earned the second-largest opening-day gross[276] and a record of $247.9 million for its opening weekend.[2] The debut was 19% bigger than the previous record holders The Avengers (2012) ($207 million) and Jurassic World (2015) ($208 million).[277] The opening weekend figure included an IMAX opening-weekend record of $30.1 million (12.65%) from 391 IMAX theaters,[278][279] which nearly amounts to the $252.5 million total earned by Return of the Jedi—the second-lowest-grossing film in the series—in its original run.[280] 2D screenings accounted for 53% of the total opening gross while 3D accounted for 47%. RealD 3D comprised $78 million of the opening gross, setting a new record.[278] Revenues in the film's second weekend decreased by only 39.8% in the United States and Canada, earning $149.2 million, to remain in first place at the box office[281] and recording the biggest second weekend of all time.[282]

On January 2, after just 16 days of release, it became the second film (following Avatar) to gross over $700 million in the United States and Canada,[283] and on January 6 became the highest-grossing film of all time domestically, doing so in 20 days.[284] On January 9, it became the first film in cinematic history to cross $800 million domestically unadjusted for inflation.[285] On February 5, The Force Awakens became the first film to earn over $900 million, unadjusted for inflation, in the United States and Canada.[286][287] The film fell outside of the top ten for the first time in its eleventh weekend during the weekend February 26–28, 2016,[288][289] and did not achieve $1 million in ticket sales for the first time in its fourteenth weekend.[290]

Internationally, the film was released in over 30,000 screens.[291] It opened on December 16, 2015, in 12 international markets and earned $14.1 million on its opening day, debuting at first place in all of them.[292] It expanded in an additional 42 countries on December 17, generating $58.6 million for a two-day international total of $72.7 million, reaching first place in all 44 markets.[293] It grossed a total of $129.5 million in three days after adding $56.8 million on its third day,[293] and set a new midnight record in the United Kingdom with $3.6 million.[294] It broke opening-day records in the United Kingdom ($14.4 million), Germany ($7.1 million), Australia ($6.8 million),[273] Sweden ($1.7 million), Norway ($1.1 million),[292] and in 12 other countries.[294] Other markets which generated large opening days were Spain ($3.5 million) and Japan ($3 million).[293] After the five days, The Force Awakens had a total international opening gross of $281 million from 30,000 screens, a new record for December opening[291][295] and the third-biggest international opening of all time.[296] International markets generating opening-weekend tallies of at least $10 million were the United Kingdom ($50.6 million), Germany ($27.5 million), France ($22.5 million), Australia ($19.6 million), Japan ($13.4 million), and Russia ($12.3 million). The film had the biggest opening of all time in 18 countries including the United Kingdom, Germany, Australia, Russia, and Sweden.[291][297]

After five days, the film had a total worldwide opening record of $529 million from 74 territories, which was the biggest worldwide opening at that time, making it only the second time in cinematic history—after Jurassic World—that a film had opened to more than $500 million globally.[295][298] This included an IMAX opening record of $48 million.[298] Revenues from IMAX dipped slightly, generating $19 million in its second weekend, for a record total of over $70 million in 11 days.[299] IMAX generated $17.9 million from 276 IMAX theaters.[279] The film had a steeper decline in its second weekend, falling 51% to $136.9 million.[300] Of the notable major markets, the film had an unsuccessful opening in India where it opened third against two local blockbusters with a mere $1.51 million.[301] As of February 21, the largest markets outside of the United States and Canada are the United Kingdom ($180.7 million), China ($124.5 million), Germany ($109.7 million), Japan ($92.6 million), and France ($88.2 million).[302] On January 17, 2016, it passed the $1 billion mark overseas becoming the first film of Disney, the third film of 2015 and the fifth film overall to achieve this feat.[303] It topped the international box office chart for five consecutive weekends, becoming the first film since Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) to have five straight wins, before being dethroned by The Revenant in its sixth weekend.[304] In Japan, it topped the box office for six straight weekends.[304]

Star Wars: The Force Awakens received overwhelmingly positive reviews from critics.[305] The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported an approval rating of 92% with an average score of 8.20/10, based on 439 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "Packed with action and populated by both familiar faces and fresh blood, The Force Awakens successfully recalls the series' former glory while injecting it with renewed energy."[306] On Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 80 out of 100 based on 55 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[307] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale; women, and people under the ages of 25 and 18 gave it an "A+", while 98% of audiences gave it either an "A" or a "B". Audiences polled by PostTrak gave the film an 88% "definite recommend" while 96% said it met or exceeded their expectations.[308]

Robbie Collin of The Daily Telegraph said the film "sets out to shake Star Wars from its slumber, and reconnect the series with its much-pined-for past", and "it achieves this both immediately and joyously is perhaps the single greatest relief of the movie-going year."[309] Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian said that it was "both a narrative progression from the earlier three films and a shrewdly affectionate next-gen reboot", and it was "ridiculous and melodramatic and sentimental, but exciting and brimming with energy and its own kind of generosity."[310] Variety's Justin Chang wrote that the film has "sufficient style, momentum, love, and care to prove irresistible to any who have ever considered themselves fans".[311] Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times described it as "a beautiful, thrilling, joyous, surprising, and heart-thumping adventure".[312] Ann Hornaday, writing for The Washington Post, thought the film had "enough novelty to create yet another cohort of die-hard fans", and the film struck "all the right chords, emotional, and narrative, to feel both familiar and exhilaratingly new."[313] The Charlotte Observer's Lawrence Toppman said Abrams had "pulled off a delicate balancing act, paying clever homage to the past."[314] Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle gave the film his highest rating and called it "the best Star Wars sequel yet and one of the best films of 2015".[315] Frank Pallotta, reviewing the film for CNN Business, found it was the best Star Wars film since the original trilogy and that it "is bound to be a film experience long remembered by fans and non-fans alike".[316]

Certain critics found The Force Awakens derivative of the original Star Wars trilogy,[101] some expressing their opinion that the film was essentially a remake of A New Hope.[317] Tom Long of The Detroit News wrote that though some may find the film too similar to the original Star Wars, it leaves "the ungainly and unneeded clumsiness of the subsequent prequels far behind", with "the energy, humor, and simplicity of direction [has] been recaptured".[318] The Tribune-Star called it "basically the same" as the original film but "isn't that what we all wanted anyway?"[319] Tom Long of The Detroit News wrote that though some may find the film too similar to the original Star Wars, it leaves "the ungainly and unneeded clumsiness of the subsequent prequels far behind", with "the energy, humor, and simplicity of direction [has] been recaptured".[320] The Tribune-Star called it "basically the same" as the original film but "isn't that what we all wanted anyway?"[321] Stephanie Zacharek of Time wrote that Abrams had delivered "everything we expect, as opposed to those nebulous wonders we didn't know we wanted".[322] Reviewing for Forbes, Scott Mendelson cited the film's "top-tier production values and a strong sense of scale and scope", but felt it was so much "an exercise in fan service [that] it is only due to the charisma and talent of our newbies and J. J. Abrams' undeniable skill as a visual storyteller that the Mad Libs narrative doesn't outright destroy the picture".[323] Brian Merchant of Motherboard said that the film "is supposed to be all about exploring the unexplored, not rehashing the well-trod", and is "one of the most unabashedly creative enterprises of the 20th century has been rendered another largely enjoyable."[324] RogerEbert.com's Gerardo Valero went as far as to accuse the film of plagiarizing A New Hope and resorting to nostalgia. He felt that it "didn't [justify] a return to the universe" from not having an original story of its own to tell in the plot, characters, and musical score, negatively comparing it to George Lucas' prequel trilogy, and that some of its climactic moments felt unearned.[325]

In an interview with journalist Charlie Rose that aired on December 24, 2015, Lucas likened his decision to sell Lucasfilm to Disney to a "divorce" and outlined the creative differences between him and the producers of The Force Awakens. Lucas described the previous Star Wars films as his "children" and criticized the "retro feel" of The Force Awakens, saying: "I worked very hard to make [my films] completely different, with different planets, with different spaceships—you know, to make it new." Lucas also likened Disney to "white slavers", which drew some criticism; he subsequently apologized.[326][327] In a 2019 memoir, Disney chairman Bob Iger said that George Lucas "couldn't even hide his disappointment" towards J. J. Abrams' interpretation. According to Iger, Lucas said, "there's nothing new" after seeing the film, and that "there weren't enough visual or technical leaps forward".[328][329] Lucas preferred Rian Johnson's sequel The Last Jedi and the anthology film Rogue One (2016).[330][331]

Several awards held their nominations before the December release of The Force Awakens, making the film ineligible for the 73rd Golden Globe Awards and some other awards ceremonies.[332] However, the film was added to the 21st Critics' Choice Awards' slate of best picture nominees after a special vote by the board of directors,[333] and the announcement of the 2015 American Film Institute Awards was delayed until after the release of The Force Awakens,[332] where it was named one of Top Ten Films of the year.[334]

The film received five Academy Award nominations at the 88th Academy Awards, including Best Original Score, Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, Best Film Editing, and Best Visual Effects.[335] The film garnered four nominations at the 69th British Academy Film Awards for Best Original Music, Best Sound, and Best Production Design, including two wins, one for Best Special Visual Effects and a BAFTA Rising Star Award for John Boyega.[336] It was nominated for Best Picture at the 2016 Critics' Choice Awards.[337] The film received seven Visual Effects Society Awards nominations, winning four, including Outstanding Visual Effects in an Effects Driven Feature Motion Picture.[338][339] It received the most nominations at the 21st Empire Awards, including Best Film, Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy Film, Best Director for J. J. Abrams, Best Male Newcomer for John Boyega, and Best Female Newcomer for Daisy Ridley.[340] The Force Awakens received 13 nominations at the 42nd Saturn Awards, where it won in eight categories, including Best Science Fiction Film, Best Writing, Best Actor for Harrison Ford, Best Supporting Actor for Adam Driver, Best Music, Best Special Effects, Best Editing, and Best Make-Up.[341][342]

Daisy Ridley and John Boyega each received several nominations and accolades for their performances. They were nominated as Best Newcomers at various critics circle and associations, including the Alliance of Women Film Journalists,[343][344] and the Florida Film Critics Circle,[345][346] The Force Awakens received 11 nominations at the MTV Movie Awards, including Movie of the Year, Best Female Performance for Ridley, Best Breakthrough Performance for Boyega, and Best Virtual Performance for Lupita Nyong'o and Andy Serkis.[347]

Rian Johnson confirmed in August 2014 that he would write and direct The Last Jedi,[156][348] which was released on December 15, 2017.[349] Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Lupita Nyong'o, Domhnall Gleeson, Anthony Daniels, Gwendoline Christie, Jimmy Vee, and Joonas Suotamo reprised their roles in the film, and are joined by Kelly Marie Tran, Laura Dern, and Benicio del Toro.[33][350]

The Rise of Skywalker was released on December 20, 2019.[351][352] J. J. Abrams directed the film and co-wrote it with Chris Terrio.[353] Hamill,[354] Fisher, Driver, Ridley, Boyega, Isaac, Daniels, Nyong'o, Suotamo, and Tran reprised their roles in the film, and are joined by Naomi Ackie, Keri Russell, and Richard E. Grant. Billy Dee Williams returns from the original trilogy as Lando Calrissian and Ian McDiarmid returns from original and prequel trilogies as Palpatine.[355]

• Szostak, Phil (2019). The Art of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Abrams Books. ISBN 978-1419740381.