Star Wars - The Event Film
Every so often a film will come along that will have "event" status. A film that has a huge following, that draws out audiences from all walks of life to come together to become a part of history, and that makes people want to have a cinematic experience seeing it for the first time. Star Wars The Force Awakens is that film! After all the hype this film had, it's hard to believe we now live in a post "The Force Awakens" era. The film has been released, millions have watched it, and it has smashed box office records. The most anticipated film in history is now out for the world to see, and it's a surreal feeling, with the film and the experience both meeting and surpassing my expectations.
But lets backtrack slightly...
Disney's $4bn move
I remember back in 2012 hearing on the radio that Disney had bought Lucasfilm for just over $4bn, and a lot of people were unhappy. With the acquisition of the studio came the rights to Star Wars, and Disney immediately announced plans to produce multiple Star Wars films. Straight away memes on social media appeared of Darth Vader with Mickey Mouse, and lots of worry that Star Wars will become "Disneyfied". Three years later and Episode VII is here. Not only here, it's actually really good!! Wasn't so "Disneyfied" was it? Disney are not idiots!! They are the largest entertainment company in the world for a reason, and have handled this ongoing project brilliantly.
The marketing
"CHEWIE, WE'RE HOME"
Even now you can't say those lines without Harrison Ford's voice going through your head!
Although this film and the franchise already have a mass following, and in a way created it's own hype, we cannot ignore the magnificent job that Disney, Lucasfilm, and everyone else involved with this project have done in marketing this film. From the trailers to merchandising to press events, the marketing campaign was nothing short of flawless! Trailers for The Force Awakens revealed very little story yet still managed to raise the anticipation levels. No set visits, press screenings taking place only days before release, it all added to the secrecy and build up.
And the way Disney created an event atmosphere for the final trailer release was absolute GENIUS!! Conveniently, Disney owns ESPN meaning during half-time of their televised Monday Night NFL game, they decided to drop the final trailer for the film. Forget the Super Bowl, this was the best half-time show of the year - experiential marketing at it's finest.
Here comes the money $$$
And clearly the marketing campaign paid off. Star Wars The Force Awakens smashed, demolished, and obliterated box office records on it's first weekend of release. Lets take a look at the numbers:
The film itself
To put it simply...STAR WARS IS BACK!!! JJ Abrams takes Star Wars back to the tone and feel of the original trilogy, while at the same time giving it a more modern sci-fi feel. Almost everyone we're disappointed by the prequels, meaning the pressure on JJ was enormous, but he pulled it off big time. The film isn't perfect but it's exactly what we needed.
My Star Wars experience...
I'll admit, I'm not a massive, die hard Star Wars fan, but I am general FILM FAN, and so to see The Force Awakens on opening night was something I wanted to experience. The Force Awakens isn't just a film, it's THE film of 2015. To see it in a packed out cinema with hard-core Star Wars fans was an amazing experience. There were cheers, gasps, laughter, and lots of excitement. Talking to people sitting next to me about all the theories beforehand and cheering with them during the film, it was just great to see how one film can bring so many together. Memorable moments include the re-introductions of the Millennium Falcon, and of course Han Solo & Chewbacca. The HOUR spent waiting in line to get good seats (yeah I knows it's kind of sad) was actually quite fun. Talking to hard-core fans, seeing many dressed up as Jedi and Stormtrooper, and just indulging myself in this once in a life time experience. Oh and I bought a pair of Stormtrooper 3D glasses lol!
Star Wars is not just a film, it's part of our history, our pop culture and has massively influenced the film industry to make it what it is today. Just a look around TV on opening weekend; Match Of The Day 2 tailored their introduction of the main game to the iconic Star Wars opening crawl text, and also the now viral video of the Channel 5 weather report with numerous Star Wars puns, and many more examples show that this is more than just film franchise, but a multi-generational phenomena.
There has been an Awakening in the Force, do you feel it?
But lets backtrack slightly...
Disney's $4bn move
I remember back in 2012 hearing on the radio that Disney had bought Lucasfilm for just over $4bn, and a lot of people were unhappy. With the acquisition of the studio came the rights to Star Wars, and Disney immediately announced plans to produce multiple Star Wars films. Straight away memes on social media appeared of Darth Vader with Mickey Mouse, and lots of worry that Star Wars will become "Disneyfied". Three years later and Episode VII is here. Not only here, it's actually really good!! Wasn't so "Disneyfied" was it? Disney are not idiots!! They are the largest entertainment company in the world for a reason, and have handled this ongoing project brilliantly.
"CHEWIE, WE'RE HOME"
Even now you can't say those lines without Harrison Ford's voice going through your head!
Although this film and the franchise already have a mass following, and in a way created it's own hype, we cannot ignore the magnificent job that Disney, Lucasfilm, and everyone else involved with this project have done in marketing this film. From the trailers to merchandising to press events, the marketing campaign was nothing short of flawless! Trailers for The Force Awakens revealed very little story yet still managed to raise the anticipation levels. No set visits, press screenings taking place only days before release, it all added to the secrecy and build up.
And the way Disney created an event atmosphere for the final trailer release was absolute GENIUS!! Conveniently, Disney owns ESPN meaning during half-time of their televised Monday Night NFL game, they decided to drop the final trailer for the film. Forget the Super Bowl, this was the best half-time show of the year - experiential marketing at it's finest.
Here comes the money $$$
And clearly the marketing campaign paid off. Star Wars The Force Awakens smashed, demolished, and obliterated box office records on it's first weekend of release. Lets take a look at the numbers:
- The film made $248m in it's opening weekend in the US, beating Jurassic World's record of $208.8m set earlier this year.
- Record box office receipts for Monday and Tuesday in the US.
- Beat Jurassic World's worldwide opening weekend total making $528m.
- It posted single-day and opening-day records of $120.5m for Friday.
- In the UK, the film opened to a record $48.9m.
- The film is set to reach $1bn at the worldwide box office in a record 12 days.
The film itself
To put it simply...STAR WARS IS BACK!!! JJ Abrams takes Star Wars back to the tone and feel of the original trilogy, while at the same time giving it a more modern sci-fi feel. Almost everyone we're disappointed by the prequels, meaning the pressure on JJ was enormous, but he pulled it off big time. The film isn't perfect but it's exactly what we needed.
My Star Wars experience...
I'll admit, I'm not a massive, die hard Star Wars fan, but I am general FILM FAN, and so to see The Force Awakens on opening night was something I wanted to experience. The Force Awakens isn't just a film, it's THE film of 2015. To see it in a packed out cinema with hard-core Star Wars fans was an amazing experience. There were cheers, gasps, laughter, and lots of excitement. Talking to people sitting next to me about all the theories beforehand and cheering with them during the film, it was just great to see how one film can bring so many together. Memorable moments include the re-introductions of the Millennium Falcon, and of course Han Solo & Chewbacca. The HOUR spent waiting in line to get good seats (yeah I knows it's kind of sad) was actually quite fun. Talking to hard-core fans, seeing many dressed up as Jedi and Stormtrooper, and just indulging myself in this once in a life time experience. Oh and I bought a pair of Stormtrooper 3D glasses lol!
Star Wars is not just a film, it's part of our history, our pop culture and has massively influenced the film industry to make it what it is today. Just a look around TV on opening weekend; Match Of The Day 2 tailored their introduction of the main game to the iconic Star Wars opening crawl text, and also the now viral video of the Channel 5 weather report with numerous Star Wars puns, and many more examples show that this is more than just film franchise, but a multi-generational phenomena.
There has been an Awakening in the Force, do you feel it?
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