It would hardly be a stretch to say that the Star Wars franchise has probably had one of the biggest impacts of all time on pop culture in the world at large, and certainly in the United States. With the seventh instalment of the movie series opening last week, the franchise is once again staring at a record-breaking streak of collections from around the world. The numbers are so mind-boggling that they would put some of the most ambitious projects of the government of India and even some ministries' budgets to shame.
By the first weekend after its opening got over on Sunday, Star Wars: The Force Awakens has already amassed more than $517 million in collections, easily surpassing its total production budget of $200 million in just a couple of days after its launch. So far, the force behind Star Wars has proved to be its highly influential cult following which has made the franchise over $32 billion in revenue over the past 38 years.
This year, too, merchandise sales on the eve of release of the Force Awakens movie are expected to far surpass its box office collections. That’s not to say, however, that the movie collections are projected to be anywhere near ordinary. Early estimates suggest that the seventh instalment in the series is on its way to become the third highest grossing film in the world of all time right behind Avatar ($2.8 billion) and Titanic ($2.2 billion).
Even though the movie is weeks away from opening in China – another big market – and yet to hit Indian theatre, its collections in the first three days of opening could put any Indian movie to shame. A rough comparison reveals that after adjusting for inflation, recently released Aamir Khan starrer PK has been the highest grossing film in the country. While PK amassed about Rs 735 crore during the course of its run-time on the big screen, the latest Star Wars movie has already collected at least four times that amount (at $1= Rs 65).
The comparison is even more stark when compared to the cost of India’s most expensive movie ever – Bahubali – which was made at a budget of Rs 250 crores. Star Wars Episode 7, by contrast, collected more than 13 times that amount in just three days. It is important to note here, though, that the movie was also produced at a cost six times more than that of Baahubali.
It might also put in perspective the staggering enormity of the movie’s collections if we consider some of the state budgets in India or just how much some of the ministries spend in a whole year. Reserve Bank of India estimates reveal that a state like Himachal Pradesh will be spending around Rs 2600 crores in the current financial year, which is Rs 700 crores less than what The Force Awakens has collected already – in three days – in theatres.
Another interesting comparison is the Statue of Unity project, which will cost Rs 2989 crores for a 597-feet high monument to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. Similarly, projected budgets of the Ministry of Environment as well as that of the Ministry of Tourism for the whole year are barely half of the movie’s collections in just three days.
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By the first weekend after its opening got over on Sunday, Star Wars: The Force Awakens has already amassed more than $517 million in collections, easily surpassing its total production budget of $200 million in just a couple of days after its launch. So far, the force behind Star Wars has proved to be its highly influential cult following which has made the franchise over $32 billion in revenue over the past 38 years.
This year, too, merchandise sales on the eve of release of the Force Awakens movie are expected to far surpass its box office collections. That’s not to say, however, that the movie collections are projected to be anywhere near ordinary. Early estimates suggest that the seventh instalment in the series is on its way to become the third highest grossing film in the world of all time right behind Avatar ($2.8 billion) and Titanic ($2.2 billion).
Even though the movie is weeks away from opening in China – another big market – and yet to hit Indian theatre, its collections in the first three days of opening could put any Indian movie to shame. A rough comparison reveals that after adjusting for inflation, recently released Aamir Khan starrer PK has been the highest grossing film in the country. While PK amassed about Rs 735 crore during the course of its run-time on the big screen, the latest Star Wars movie has already collected at least four times that amount (at $1= Rs 65).
The comparison is even more stark when compared to the cost of India’s most expensive movie ever – Bahubali – which was made at a budget of Rs 250 crores. Star Wars Episode 7, by contrast, collected more than 13 times that amount in just three days. It is important to note here, though, that the movie was also produced at a cost six times more than that of Baahubali.
It might also put in perspective the staggering enormity of the movie’s collections if we consider some of the state budgets in India or just how much some of the ministries spend in a whole year. Reserve Bank of India estimates reveal that a state like Himachal Pradesh will be spending around Rs 2600 crores in the current financial year, which is Rs 700 crores less than what The Force Awakens has collected already – in three days – in theatres.
Another interesting comparison is the Statue of Unity project, which will cost Rs 2989 crores for a 597-feet high monument to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. Similarly, projected budgets of the Ministry of Environment as well as that of the Ministry of Tourism for the whole year are barely half of the movie’s collections in just three days.