display screens star wars made in china

The Force is strong with China this week. For the first time ever, the Star Warsfilms A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back,and Return of the Jediare being screened in mainland China. The films are being shown as part of the Shanghai International Film Festival.

“This will be the first-ever theatrical screening of the original trilogy in China. The huge buzz and excitement generated is going to be great for theStar Wars franchise and the upcoming Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” Kerwin Lo, vice president and general manager of Walt Disney Studios China, told Agence France-Presse.

The original A New Hope) premiered in the United States in May 1977, followed by an international release — but the sci-fi blockbuster never made it China. The nation had just emerged from the Cultural Revolution under Communist leader Mao Tse-Tung, who had banned the import of foreign culture. Not until 1986 — three years after Return of the Jedi— did major Hollywood studios strike a deal to distribute new films in China. As a result, many Chinese movie fans are more familiar with the ‘90s Star Wars prequels, which did premiere theatrically, than with the original films.

Unfortunately, Disney has no plans to give the original trilogy a nationwide theatrical release — so the rest of China won’t get to see Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader battle it out on the big screen. Not that everyone in China is a diehard Star Wars fan. Reviewing the film on the Chinese website Douban, one user writes, “Although the character design is weak, the leading actress not beautiful, the leading actor not handsome and the action parts like children fighting, placed in 1977, the visual effects are amazing.”

SHANGHAI - China has become one with the Force by showing the original "Star Wars" film at cinemas for the first time, nearly four decades after it became a global hit and cornerstone of Western popular culture.

The Shanghai International Film Festival is showing all six "Star Wars" films this week, including the first screenings in mainland Chinese theatres of the original trilogy, festival organisers said. There are no plans for nationwide release.

At a central cinema, the Tuesday show was nearly sold out. The Star Wars theme song played in the lobby as the young crowd entered, one man wearing a C-3PO T-shirt and a woman sporting white storm troopers on her black shirt.

Some audience members said they were more familiar with the newer, prequel films: "The Phantom Menace", "Attack of the Clones" and "Revenge of the Sith" than with the original three films -- "Star Wars", "The Empire Strikes Back" and "Return of the Jedi".

“The Mandalorian” was a pretty good show. On that most people seem to agree. But while a successful live-action Star Wars TV series is important in its own right, the way this particular show was made represents a far greater change, perhaps the most important since the green screen. The cutting edge tech (literally) behind “The Mandalorian” creates a new standard and paradigm for media — and the audience will be none the wiser.

What is this magical new technology? It’s an evolution of a technique that’s been in use for nearly a century in one form or another: displaying a live image behind the actors. The advance is not in the idea but the execution: a confluence of technologies that redefines “virtual production” and will empower a new generation of creators.

In filmmaking terms, a “volume” generally refers to a space where motion capture and compositing take place. Some volumes are big and built into sets, as you might have seen in behind-the-scenes footage of Marvel or Star Wars movies. Some are smaller, plainer affairs, where the motions of the actors behind CG characters play out their roles.

Advances some time ago (think prequels-era Star Wars) enabled cameras to display a rough pre-visualization of what the final film would look like, instantly substituting CG backgrounds and characters onto monitors. Sure, that helps with composition and camera movement, but the world of the film isn’t there, the way it is with practical sets and on-site shoots.

This particular volume, called Stagecraft by ILM, the company that put it together, is not static. The background is a set of enormous LED screens such as you might have seen onstage at conferences and concerts. The Stagecraft volume is bigger than any of those — but more importantly, it’s smarter.

Naturally there are some trade-offs. At 20 feet tall, the volume is large but not so large that wide shots won’t capture the top of it, above which you’d see cameras and a different type of LED (the ceiling is also a display, though not as powerful). This necessitates some rotoscoping and post-production, or limits the angles and lenses one can shoot with — but that’s true of any soundstage or volume.

The size of the LEDs, that is of the pixels themselves, also limits how close the camera can get to them, and of course you can’t zoom in on an object for closer inspection. If you’re not careful, you’ll end up with Moiré patterns, those stripes you often see on images of screens.

I’ve been told that nearly every production house is building or experimenting with LED walls of various sizes and types — the benefits are that obvious. TV productions can save money but look just as good. Movies can be shot on more flexible schedules. Actors who hate working in front of green screens may find this more palatable. And you better believe commercials are going to find a way to use these as well.

China has become one with the Force by showing the original Star Warsfilm at cinemas for the first time, nearly four decades after it became a global hit and cornerstone of Western popular culture.

The Shanghai International Film Festival is showing all six Star Wars films this week, including the first screenings in mainland Chinese theatres of the original trilogy, festival organisers said. There are no plans for nationwide release.

At a central cinema, the Tuesday show was nearly sold out. The Star Warstheme song played in the lobby as the young crowd entered, one man wearing a C-3PO T-shirt and a woman sporting white storm troopers on her black shirt.

Some audience members said they were more familiar with the newer, prequel films: The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith than with the original three films – Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi.

It is hard to imagine that there would be a place in this World where Star Wars has not screened other than imagining something archaic like, "Oh, I bet it hasn"t been shown in the deepest Congo!"

So color me surprised to find out that none of the original three Star Wars films have screened in China. But then culturally that would make sense. You do not want a series of films about a band of rebels rising up against an oppressive Empire giving anyone any strange ideas.

But the winds of change have blown over China and THR reported earlier today that the complete Star Wars saga, Episodes I through VI, will screen at the 18th edition of the Shanghai International Film Festival, which takes place from June 13th through 21st.

The poster was released earlier this week along with the announcement of the film’s release date in the country. “Star Wars” hits theaters in China on Jan. 9 — about a month after its worldwide release on Dec. 18. Some of the movie’s stars are expected to attend the gala premiere in China.

In a similar recent incident, Lionsgate was forced to recall marketing material for “12 Years a Slave,” after posters in Italy featured Brad Pitt and Michael Fassbender at the expense of star Chiwetel Ejiofor.

China has screened the original Star Wars movies for the first time almost four decades after George Lucas’s space opera helped usher in the Hollywood blockbuster era.

Star Wars, from 1977, The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983) all got an outing on 14 June, with an official Shanghai international film festival screening of the first film in the series taking place on 16 June. Reaction was mixed, with local Disney reps citing “huge buzz and excitement” from filmgoers in the world’s most populous nation, but some viewers complaining that the original movie was not, in fact, much cop.

Hollywood films were rarely shown in the country in the 1970s, when mainly Chinese-produced movies were sanctioned for public screening. The number of screens on which to project them was also small – as recently as 2002, China had only 1,300 cinemas. There are now at least 10 times that figure, and China is on course to overtake the US as the world’s largest box office before 2020. That transformation has come about in part through a huge program of cinema building and following the introduction of an annual quota system allowing foreign films to be shown. In 2013, this was increased from 20 to 34.

At the 16 June screening of Star Wars at a central Shanghai cinema, John Williams’s famous theme played in the lobby and fans wearing C-3PO and stormtrooper-adorned clothing flooded into an almost sold-out show. Many had already seen the movies via illegal download, while others were more familiar with Lucas’s later, oft-derided prequel trilogy, but all were keen to see the older film on the big screen.Watch the trailer for the new episode – video Guardian

“This will be the first-ever theatrical screening of the original trilogy in China,” Disney China’s Kerwin Lo told AFP before the screenings. “The huge buzz and excitement generated is going to be great for the Star Wars franchise and the upcoming Star Wars: The Force Awakens.”

China has screened the original Star Wars movies for the first time almost four decades after George Lucas’s space opera helped usher in the Hollywood blockbuster era.

Star Wars, from 1977, The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983) all got an outing on 14 June, with an official Shanghai international film festival screening of the first film in the series taking place on 16 June. Reaction was mixed, with local Disney reps citing “huge buzz and excitement” from filmgoers in the world’s most populous nation, but some viewers complaining that the original movie was not, in fact, much cop.

Hollywood films were rarely shown in the country in the 1970s, when mainly Chinese-produced movies were sanctioned for public screening. The number of screens on which to project them was also small – as recently as 2002, China had only 1,300 cinemas. There are now at least 10 times that figure, and China is on course to overtake the US as the world’s largest box office before 2020. That transformation has come about in part through a huge program of cinema building and following the introduction of an annual quota system allowing foreign films to be shown. In 2013, this was increased from 20 to 34.

At the 16 June screening of Star Wars at a central Shanghai cinema, John Williams’s famous theme played in the lobby and fans wearing C-3PO and stormtrooper-adorned clothing flooded into an almost sold-out show. Many had already seen the movies via illegal download, while others were more familiar with Lucas’s later, oft-derided prequel trilogy, but all were keen to see the older film on the big screen.Watch the trailer for the new episode – video Guardian

“This will be the first-ever theatrical screening of the original trilogy in China,” Disney China’s Kerwin Lo told AFP before the screenings. “The huge buzz and excitement generated is going to be great for the Star Wars franchise and the upcoming Star Wars: The Force Awakens.”

Chinese state media has hit back against claims that the poster for “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” used in mainland China deliberately leaves out or downplays characters of color.

Star Wars" Finn (who happens to be black) and Chewbacca (happens to be Wookiee) get shafted in China. HT @asmuniz pic.twitter.com/ATpvcd51L6— Ray 鄺羡華 (@raykwong) December 1, 2015

Others compared the posters to the controversy over an Italian-promotional campaign for “Twelve Years a Slave,” which sidelined star Chiwetel Ejiofor in favor of Brad Pitt, who only had a brief role in the movie. Studio Lionsgate later pulled the posters, saying they had not been authorized.

Not everyone was on board with the Star Wars criticisms, Chinese state-run newspaper the Global Times quoted several local analysts who claim “the change has nothing to do with racism.”

“Star Wars: The Force Awakens” will be the first of the franchise to get a widespread release in mainland China, and Disney has gone all out to promote it to an audience less familiar with the characters than in other countries, including an invasion of the Great Wall by Stormtroopers.

For the first time ever the original “Star Wars” trilogy — “A New Hope,” “The Empire Strikes Back” and “Return of the Jedi” — will screen in mainland China.

Hollywood films began making its way into the country in 1986, meaning Chinese citizens had the opportunity to see the “Star Wars” prequels — “The Phantom Menace,” “Attack of the Clones,” and “Revenge of the Sith” — during their original theatrical releases in the late 1990s/early 2000s.

As China is the largest film market outside of the US, it’s good to give the country an opportunity to get properly caught up on the complete saga before the latest “Star Wars” chapter, “The Force Awakens,” opens December 18.

The Chinese poster for Star Wars: The Force Awakens has sparked controversy on social media over its perceived diminishing of John Boyega’s character Finn.

Left: UK version. Right: China version. Spot the main massive difference #StarWars #StarWarsForceAwakens pic.twitter.com/9AFfiSAa6L— Guy Lambert (@SohoGuy) December 3, 2015

These days you don’t bother making a giant blockbuster unless you’re going to premiere it in China (Jurassic World made $100 million there last weekend alone). But nearly 40 years ago, when the original Star Wars changed everything in the United States, Chinese moviegoers were nowhere near that galaxy far, far away. Which is how this week, Star Wars: A New Hope finally had its Chinese premiere.

Even with Chinese appetites now primed for American blockbuster filmmaking, it wasn’t an across-the-board hit. “Although the character design is weak, the leading actress not beautiful, the leading actor not handsome, and the action parts like children fighting, placed in 1977, the visual effects are amazing,” said commenter Xiaosi Buxiang on the Web site Douban, via the AFP. At the same time, the AFP’s reporter noticed at least two attendees in Star Wars T-shirts at a sold-out screening on Tuesday—pirated copies of the original trilogy have been available in China for years.

The screening, part of the Shanghai International Film Festival, was a spectacle on the level of Comic Con or the Star Wars Celebration; the Star Wars Weibo account also posted pictures of Darth Vader and Stormtroopers streaming into the theater, plus a “telegram” from The Force Awakens director J.J. Abrams that preceded the screening. Would an American blockbuster from the 70s without an expensive sequel opening this year receive the same treatment? Of course not. But why shouldn’t Shanghai geeks get to be part of the same marketing/spectacle orgy as the geeks in every other country? It’s our modern-day “We Are the World”: a special-edition Star Wars 64-oz. soda cup and a lightsaber in every hand.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens (also known as Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens) is a 2015 American epic space opera film produced, co-written, and directed by J. J. Abrams. The sequel to Skywalker Saga". Set thirty years after Return of the Jedi, The Force Awakens follows Rey, Finn, Poe Dameron, and Han Solo"s search for Luke Skywalker and their fight in the Resistance, led by General Leia Organa and veterans of the Rebel Alliance, against Kylo Ren and the First Order, a successor to the Galactic Empire. The ensemble cast includes Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong"o, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, and Max von Sydow.

The Force Awakens premiered in Los Angeles on December 14, 2015, and was released in the United States on December 18. It was positively received by critics for its screenplay, direction, lead performances, action sequences, musical score, special effects, and emotional weight, although some critics found the film too similar to breaking various box office records and becoming the highest-grossing film in the United States and Canada, the highest-grossing film of 2015, and the third-highest-grossing film at the time of its release. It was nominated for five awards at the 88th Academy Awards, and received numerous other accolades. The Force Awakens, rounding out the Star Wars sequel trilogy.

On the desert planet Jakku, Resistance pilot Poe Dameron receives a map to Luke"s location from Lor San Tekka. Stormtroopers commanded by Kylo Ren raid the village and capture Poe, ultimately killing San Tekka and slaughtering the villagers. Poe"s droid, Rey. Kylo tortures Poe using the Force and learns of BB-8. Stormtrooper TIE fighter. Upon learning that FN-2187 has no other name, Poe gives him the name "Finn". As they head to Jakku to retrieve BB-8, a First Order Star Destroyer shoots them, and they crash-land. Finn survives and finds only Poe"s jacket in the wreck, leading to the assumption of his death. Finn encounters Rey and BB-8, but the First Order tracks them and launches an airstrike. Rey, Finn, and BB-8 steal the

The Falcon is discovered and boarded by Han Solo and Chewbacca. Gangs seeking to settle debts with Han attack, but the group escape in the Falcon. At the First Order"s Starkiller Base, a planet converted into a superweapon, Supreme Leader Snoke approves General Hux"s request to use the weapon for the first time on the New Republic. Snoke questions Kylo"s ability to deal with emotions surrounding his father, Han Solo, whom Kylo states means nothing to him.

Starkiller Base demostrates its power by simultaneously destroying the New Republic capital of Hosnian Prime and four of its neighboring planets, leaving the Resistance on their own. The First Order attacks Takodana in search of BB-8. Han, Chewbacca, and Finn are saved by Resistance X-wing fighters led by Poe, who survived the crash. Leia arrives at Takodana with Jedi mind trick on a Stormtrooper guard.

At the Resistance base on D"Qar, BB-8 finds R2-D2, who had been inactive since Luke"s disappearance. As Starkiller Base prepares to fire once more, the Resistance devises a plan to destroy it by attacking its thermal oscillator. Using the Falcon, Han, Chewbacca, and Finn infiltrate the facility, find Rey, and plant explosives. Han confronts Kylo, calling him by his birth name Ben, and implores him to abandon the dark side. Kylo seems to consider this, but ultimately kills Han instead. Devastated, Chewbacca shoots Kylo and sets off the explosives, allowing Poe to attack and destroy the base"s thermal oscillator.

The injured Kylo pursues Finn and Rey into the woods. Kylo incapacitates Rey, and Finn uses the lightsaber to duel Kylo, but is overcome due to his lack of experience. Rey awakens, takes the lightsaber, and channels the Force to defeat Kylo in a duel; they are then separated by a fissure as the planet"s surface begins to splinter. Snoke orders Hux to evacuate and bring Kylo to him to complete his training. Chewbacca rescues Rey and the unconscious Finn, and they escape aboard the Falcon. As the Resistance forces flee, Starkiller Base implodes. R2-D2 awakens and reveals the rest of the map, which points to the oceanic planet Ahch-To.

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.Lucasfilm to The Walt Disney Company.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."

As creative consultant on the film, Lucas attended early story meetings and advised on the details of the Star Wars universe.story treatments for Episodes VII–IX, which Lucas requested be read only by Kennedy, Bob Iger, Alan F. Horn, and Kevin A. Mayer.

Several directors were considered, including David Fincher,Brad Bird,Jon Favreau,Guillermo del Toro.Matthew Vaughn was an early candidate for the job, even dropping out of Colin Trevorrow was also under consideration by the studio, while Ben Affleck and Neill Blomkamp passed on the project.Steven Spielberg to Kennedy,J. J. Abrams was named director in January 2013,Santa Monica, California, New York City, Paris, and London. The first draft was completed in six weeks.Star Wars films and be based more on emotion than explanation.Episodes VII–IX would not feature storylines from the Star Wars expanded universe, though other elements could be included, as with the TV series

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.

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."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."Star Wars films.

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.Wicket in Return of the Jedi, as well as Wald and Weazle in The Force Awakens, but did not reveal his role.Debbie Reynolds confirmed that her granddaughter (Fisher"s daughter), Billie Lourd, was in the film.

Kennedy said The Force Awakens would use real locations and models over computer-generated imagery.Disney Research,Neal Scanlan and operated live on set with the actors.Tippett Studio and overseen by Phil Tippett, who also worked on the stop-motion sequence in the original Star Wars film.

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.post-production and editing of the film at Bad Robot Productions" headquarters in Santa Monica.

On November 6, 2014, the film"s title was announced as Star Wars: The Force Awakens.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".

Disney backed The Force Awakens with extensive marketing campaigns.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,feel of classic Star Wars"—but noted the absence of Hamill, Ford, and Fisher and speculated about the significance of the new characters.Star Wars fanfare by John Williams reinforced brand loyalty among fans.

On December 11, 2014, Abrams and Kennedy released a series of eight mock Topps trading cards revealing the names of several characters.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".million times within the first 24 hours of release."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."

Walt Disney Studios and Lucasfilm presented a look at The Force Awakens at Disney"s D23 Expo in August 2015.Drew Struzan—who designed the poster artwork for the previous Star Wars films—produced a commemorative poster given to the event"s attendees.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."Star Wars aesthetic".million views in 24 hours. 16 million of the views came from its airing on Monday Night Football.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.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.

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.

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.Alan Dean Foster wrote a novelization of The Force Awakens which was released in e-book form on December 18.The Force Awakens between June and November 2016.

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.Maker Studios hosted an 18-hour live-streaming presentation on YouTube, showcasing multiple merchandise products beginning on September 3, 2015.Sphero.Toys "R" Us, were unable to meet demand for Star Wars products due to the event.

The Force Awakens is the first Star Wars film to not have a direct tie-in game to accompany it.Star Wars video games: Characters from the film were added to an update to the mobile game iOS and Android and released by Electronic Arts;downloadable content for Electronic Arts" reboot allowed players to battle on the planet Jakku;Disney Mobile for iOS, Android and the Windows Store, allowed players to battle on the planet Takodana during the Galactic Civil War era;toys-to-life game Lego video game adaptation, titled 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.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens premiered in Los Angeles at the TCL Chinese Theatre, El Capitan Theatre, and Dolby Theatre on December 14, 2015.Hollywood Boulevard from Orange Drive to Highland Avenue, covering the "massive" premiere event that hosted more than five thousand guests.IMAX 3D formats.

In the United States and Canada, it had the widest release of December across 4,134 theaters,70mm), 451 premium large format screens, 146 D-Box locations,Dolby Vision format (high-dynamic range, Rec. 2020 color) in Dolby Cinema.Warner Bros." The Hobbit trilogy to receive such a release.

Advance ticket sales for the film began on October 19, 2015,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.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."

The Force Awakens 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.Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures,production logo shown silently before the main titles.

Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment released Star Wars: The Force Awakens through digital download and Disney Movies Anywhere on April 1, 2016, and on Blu-ray and DVD on April 5. Physical copies include behind-the-scenes featurettes, deleted scenes, interviews,The Force Awakens sold 669,318 DVDs and 3.4million Blu-rays as the most sold film on both formats in the United States.The Force Awakens topped the Nielsen VideoScan First Alert chart, which tracks overall disc sales, as well as the dedicated Blu-ray sales chart with 83% of unit sales coming from Blu-ray.The Force Awakens sold 2.1million DVDs and 5.9million Blu-rays, adding them up to get a total of 8million copies, and made $191million through home media releases.

The premium cable network Starz had U.S. broadcast syndication rights for The Force Awakens in January 2016,The Force Awakens began broadcasting on all Starz networks.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens grossed $936.7million in the United States and Canada and $1.132billion in other countries for a worldwide total of $2.068billion,highest-grossing film of 2015third highest-grossing film of all time.Box Office Mojo estimates that the film sold close to 110million tickets in the United States and Canada.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 fastest film to surpass the mark at the time, doing so in 12 days.Deadline Hollywood calculated the film"s net profit as $780.1 million, accounting for production budgets, marketing, talent participations, and other costs; box office grosses and home media revenues placed it first on their list of 2015"s "Most Valuable Blockbusters".

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.

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 India, other certain parts of Asia and Latin America. This was attributed to it being "a retro film" and how overseas audiences do not have the same nostalgia or affinity for the film as those in North America.Star Wars franchise has traditionally lacked resonance with filmgoers in China, and marketing for The Force Awakens heavily focused on appealing to that market.

Internationally, the film was released in over 30,000 screens.The Force Awakens had a total international opening gross of $281 million from 30,000 screens, a new record for December opening

Star Wars: The Force Awakens received overwhelmingly positive reviews from critics.review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 93% of 447 critics" reviews are positive, with an average rating of 8.3/10. The website"s 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."Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 80 out of 100, based on 55 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".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.

Robbie Collin of 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."Peter Bradshaw of 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."Richard Roeper of the "s Lawrence Toppman said Abrams had "pulled off a delicate balancing act, paying clever homage to the past."Mick LaSalle of the Star Wars sequel yet and one of the best films of 2015".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".

Certain critics found The Force Awakens derivative of the original Star Wars trilogy,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".Tribune-Star called it "basically the same" as the original film but "isn"t that what we all wanted anyway?"Stephanie Zacharek of Mad Libs narrative doesn"t outright destroy the picture.""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.

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.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".Rian Johnson"s sequel The Last Jedi and the anthology film

In 2016, when directly confronted about Lucas" complaints of The Force Awakens being too derivative of previous films, Abrams said, "What was important for me was introducing brand new characters using relationships that were embracing the history that we know to tell a story that is new – to go backwards to go forwards".The Last Jedi as a way to apologize for the previous film"s oversight.The Force Awakens, Abrams further apologized about it, saying he "wished it would have been Lucas" favorite movie", and that he was "grateful for Lucas", while understanding his complaints about the film being highly derivative of A New Hope. Abrams also said the scene of Starkiller Base destroying a solar system would have had a similar emotional impact to the Death Star destroying planet Alderaan in the original film, had he not chosen to delete scenes of a character who Leia interacted with, prior to the deleted character dying on one of the exploding planets.

The $57 million figure incorporates revenues generated from the "Star Wars Marathon Event" from 135 theaters in which all previous six Star Wars films were shown along with Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Ticket prices cost $59.99 for all the films (including The Force Awakens) at an average of $8.57 per movie.

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Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith is a 2005 American epic space opera film written and directed by George Lucas. It stars Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Hayden Christensen, Ian McDiarmid, Samuel L. Jackson, Christopher Lee, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker and Frank Oz. The sequel to Star Wars prequel trilogy, and third chronological chapter of the "Skywalker Saga".

Revenge of the Sith is set three years after the onset of the Clone Wars as established in Attack of the Clones. The Jedi are spread across the galaxy in a full-scale war against the Separatists. The Jedi Council dispatches Obi-Wan Kenobi on a mission to defeat General Grievous, the head of the Separatist army, to put an end to the war. Meanwhile, after having visions of his wife Padmé Amidala dying in childbirth, Anakin Skywalker is tasked by the Council to spy on Palpatine, the Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic and, secretly, a Sith Lord. Palpatine manipulates Anakin into turning to the dark side of the Force and becoming his apprentice, Darth Vader, with wide-ranging consequences for the galaxy.

Lucas began writing the script before production of Attack of the Clones ended, citing that he wanted the end of the trilogy to have similar aspects to a romantic tragedy, thus building into Darth Vader"s state at the beginning of the next film. Production of Revenge of the Sith started in September 2003, and filming took place in Australia with additional locations in Thailand, Switzerland, China, Italy and the United Kingdom.

Revenge of the Sith premiered on May 15, 2005, at the Cannes Film Festival, then released worldwide on May 19, 2005. The film received positive reviews and is widely considered to be the best installment of the prequel trilogy, with praise for its mature tone, story, emotional weight, action sequences, score, visual effects, and the performances of McGregor, McDiarmid, Oz, and Jimmy Smits; criticism largely focused on the film"s dialogue and Christensen"s performance. It broke several box office records during its opening week and went on to earn over $868 million worldwide, making it the second-highest-grossing film in the Star Wars franchise at the time. It was the highest-grossing film in the U.S. and the second-highest-grossing film worldwide in 2005. It also holds the record for the highest opening-day gross on a Thursday, making $50 million.

Obi-Wan and Yoda plan to conceal the twins from the Sith and go into exile until the time is right to challeng