Before Reading “ ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ Shatters Box Office Records”:
What experiences have you had with this movie or others in the franchise? What did you think about the hype leading up to the release of “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”? Do you plan to see the movie–or see it again if you were among the opening weekend crowds?
For fun, answer the Test Your “Star Wars” Knowledge quiz.
After Reading
Read the entire article and answer the questions, supporting your responses by citing evidence from the text.
1. How much money did the movie take in globally? How much of that was ticket sales in North America?
2. How much did the movie cost to make?
3. What percentage of the ticket sales were for 3-D screenings?
4. Why does the article characterize efforts to promote the movie as having a “nostalgia-driven strategy”?
5. What other characters from the past will appear in new movies or sequels in the near future?
Going Further
Just over a year ago, in “To Lure Young, Movie Theaters Shake, Smell and Spritz,” Brooks Barnes wrote:
“When I step back and think about what will get people off a couch, in a car, down the road and into a theater, the answer is not postage stamp-sized screens and old seats,” said Gerardo I. Lopez, the chief executive of AMC Entertainment, the No. 2 chain in the United States. “Why would they bother? What the hell, stay in the house.”
If Mr. Lopez sounds frustrated, he is. Ticket revenue in North America has fallen 4 percent this year compared to the same period in 2013, according to box office analysts, and attendance is equally down. The busy Thanksgiving and Christmas moviegoing periods are not expected to make up the ground.
The decline has hammered the biggest theater companies, with profit at both AMC and Regal Entertainment, the No. 1 chain, plunging more than 50 percent through the first nine months of this year, compared to the same period a year earlier.
But what really has the exhibition industry unnerved are two statistics released in the spring by the Motion Picture Association of America. Last year, despite a glut of extravagant action movies, the number of frequent moviegoers ages 18 to 24 dropped 17 percent, compared to a year earlier; the 12-to-17 age bracket dropped 13 percent.
Do you think that the success of “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” could reverse the trend described above? If so, do you think it’s true for all age groups?
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