UPDATE 3-Historic 'Star Wars' debut hands Disney another hit franchise

(Adds comments from Disney, box office analysts)
By Lisa Richwine
LOS ANGELES, Dec 20 (Reuters) - "Star Wars: The Force
Awakens" shattered box office records with an estimated $517
million in worldwide ticket sales through Sunday, a staggering
debut that re-established the celebrated space saga as a global
phenomenon under Walt Disney Co DIS.N .
The first "Star Wars" film in a decade recorded the biggest
domestic opening in Hollywood's history, collecting $238 million
over the weekend in the United States and Canada. It also set
records in Britain, Australia, Russia and elsewhere as fans
embraced a new chapter in the galactic battle between good and
evil.
Thousands joined a mock lightsaber battle in Los Angeles,
where an Australian couple married in line for the film.
President Obama ended a news conference on Friday saying he
needed to head to a White House screening of the movie, and
presidential candidate Hillary Clinton closed Saturday's
Democratic debate saying, "May the Force be with you."
"I don't think ever in the history of movies has their been
more hype leading up to release of a film," said Jeff Bock,
senior box office analyst at Exhibitor Relations Co. "This is a
huge, huge win."
The film's financial and critical success mark a victory for
Disney Chief Executive Bob Iger's strategy of acquiring proven
brands, including Pixar Animation and comic book powerhouse
Marvel, to fuel Disney's entertainment empire.
Disney purchased "Star Wars" producer Lucasfilm for $4
billion in 2012 as part of his bet on big-budget films.
Movie theater attendance in the United States and Canada,
the world's largest film market, has barely changed in a decade
as online and mobile platforms exploded. Subscribers to Disney's
sports powerhouse, ESPN, have shrunk, a much-noted sign of
pressure on traditional media. The turnout for "Star Wars" is an
encouraging result for Disney, rival media companies and movie
theaters.
"We have so many options for entertainment, yet look at
where everyone is flocking this weekend - to the multiplex,"
said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at box office
tracking firm Rentrak. "Disney has this down to a science."
Global sales for "Force Awakens" finished second only to the
dinosaur film "Jurassic World," which in its June opening
garnered $525 million worldwide, including China, where the
"Star Wars" film will not open for weeks. "Jurassic World" took
$208.8 million at domestic theaters in its first weekend.
"Force Awakens" is the seventh installment in the epic
science-fiction franchise created by George Lucas in 1977.
Filmgoers reveled in the return to the "Star Wars" galaxy,
dressing as Jedi or Sith, carrying lightsabers and cheering when
classic characters such as Princess Leia or Chewbacca appeared
on screen. Theaters added showtimes to meet demand.
Disney plans four "Star Wars" movies through 2019, plus
major expansions at its U.S. theme parks to incorporate the
droids, spaceships and otherworldly creatures of the universe
Lucas invented. "Force Awakens" toys, clothing, home accessories
and video games already pervade stores ahead of Christmas.
A Reuters Breakingviews analysis last week calculated that
Disney may be on track to triple its Lucasfilm investment and
earn an average of $669 million off the franchise in each of the
next six years. ID:nL1N1420L2
Nostalgia, plus a carefully planned, months-long release of
film trailers and character profiles boosted interest. Disney,
which spent more than $200 million to make "Force Awakens," also
created intrigue by keeping the plot largely secret.
Critics lauded the movie's throwback feel, doses of humor
and the performances of newcomers Daisy Ridley, John Boyega and
Oscar Isaac. Audiences awarded an "A" grade in polling by survey
firm CinemaScore.
Disney took steps to attract more women and girls to the
series, including casting Ridley as the star and running
commercials during shows such as "Keeping Up with the
Kardashians." Forty-two percent of the weekend's domestic
audience was female, Disney said.
"Force Awakens" could become the highest-grossing movie of
all time, box office analysts said. "Avatar" holds that title
with $2.8 billion in global sales.
The wild card is China, the world's second-largest movie
market, where "Force Awakens" opens Jan. 9. The last "Star Wars"
movie in 2005 collected just $9 million there.
Disney made an effort to build buzz, placing 500 miniature
Stormtroopers at the Great Wall and striking a deal to stream
the six earlier "Star Wars" films through video service Tencent
0700.HK .

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Disney awakens the financial power of the Force
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