In a 60 Minutes report that aired just days before its theatrical release, it was stated that Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens had to gross $1.5 billion globally in order to be considered a success by Disney. That seems like an outrageous expectation, but it made sense, since Disney acquired Lucasfilm for $4 billion in 2012. But from the film's very first day at the multiplex, Disney knew they would reach their goal and then some.
The list of box office milestones The Force Awakens has achieved is staggering, and it was expected to hit $900 million domestically and $2 billion globally by the end of the week. Those are no longer estimations. Star Wars 7 has officially crossed both figures in less than two months, another illustration of its unprecedented commercial success.
Box Office Mojo is reporting that Episode VII passed $900 million in the States on Friday, February 5, 2016. It is the only movie in history to do so. The Force Awakens accomplished the feat in just 50 days, a staggering statistic when one considers that the previous all-time domestic record holder, Avatar, needed 318 days and two theatrical releases to reach $760.5 million in North America. Perhaps even more impressive is that Star Wars 7 ranks 11th on the all-time domestic charts when ticket price inflation is accounted for.
The Force Awakens joins the elite company of Titanic and Avatar in the far more exclusive $2 billion club, becoming just the third movie ever to gross that much money. While topping Avatar's worldwide mark of $2.7 billion is realistically out of the question, Star Wars 7 should be able to pass Titanic's $2.18 billion when it's all said and done. The Force Awakens is still going (relatively) strong and shouldn't have a drastic fall down the charts anytime soon.
Now fans will begin to ponder the possibility of Episode VII reaching $1 billion just from domestic earnings. As of this writing, it is at approximately $905.9 million, which means it would have to make around $94 million more in the States to get to that total. It may be unwise to bet against Star Wars' commercial prowess, but this seems like too tall a task to complete. In the last four weekends combined, The Force Awakens has made about $64.9 million domestically. With the arrivals of highly-anticipated films like Deadpool and Zoolander 2 next week, the number of screens Star Wars is shown on will diminish.
Not that anyone should shed a tear for Disney and Lucasfilm. The Force Awakens more than accomplished its mission of bringing Star Wars back to the limelight, both critically and at the box office. Single-handedly rewriting the record books, it showed that interest in the property remains high, a great omen for the many other Star Wars films the Mouse House has planned.
Star Wars: Episode 7 – The Force Awakens is now in theaters, and will be followed by Rogue One: A Star Wars Story on December 16th, 2016, Star Wars: Episode 8 on December 15th, 2017, and the Han Solo Star Wars Anthology film on May 25th, 2018. Star Wars: Episode 9 is expected to reach theaters in 2019, followed by the third Star Wars Anthology film in 2020.
Source: Box Office Mojo