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About Cottage Grove sentinel. (Cottage Grove, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 16, 2015)
10 - STAR WARS: EPISODE VII - THE FORCE AWAKENS PREVIEW - DECEMBER 16, 2015 The Force Awakens Preview By the Numbers STAR WARS AT THE box office “Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens” is anticipated to break box office records and gross more than $1 billion in domestic box office sales, which would put it nearly a quarter-billion dollars ahead of current record holder “Avatar” ($760M). That fervor could not be any more different from the release of “Star Wars” nearly 40 years ago, which premiered on just a few dozen screens. In fact, 20th Century Fox was so concerned about how it would per- form versus other summer films that it moved up its premiere to the Wednesday before Memorial Day to give a few days at theaters without big head-to-head competition. Needless to say, they had nothing to worry about. Here’s a look back at how each film in the “Star Wars” franchise performed at the domestic box office: STAR WARS Release: May 25, 1977 Opening Weekend Box Office: $1,554,475 in 43 theaters Box Office Total: $307,263,857 in 1,750 theaters 1977 Average Ticket Cost: $2.23 THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK Release: May 21, 1980 Opening Weekend Box Office: $4,910,483 in 126 theaters Box Office Total: $209,398,025 in 1,278 theaters 1980 Average Ticket Cost: $2.69 RETURN OF THE JEDI Release: May 25, 1983 Opening Weekend Box Office: $23,019,618 in 1,002 theaters Box Office Total: $252,583,617 in 1,764 theaters 1983 Average Ticket Cost: $3.15 STAR WARS: EPISODE I – THE PHANTOM MENACE Release: May 19, 1999 Opening Weekend Box Office: $64,820,970 in 2,970 theaters Box Office Total: $431,088,295 in 3,126 theaters 1999 Average Ticket Cost: $5.06 STAR WARS: EPISODE II – ATTACK OF THE CLONES Release: May 16, 2002 Opening Weekend Box Office: $80,027,814 in 3,161 theaters Box Office Total: $302,191,252 in 3,161 theaters 2002 Average Ticket Cost: $5.80 STAR WARS: EPISODE III – REVENGE OF THE SITH Release: May 19, 2005 Opening Weekend Box Office: $108,435,841 in 3,661 theaters Box Office Total: $380,270,577 in 3,663 theaters 2005 Average Ticket Cost: $6.41 Sources: BoxOfficeMojo.com, National Association of Theater Owners © CTW FEATURES www.shoppelocal.biz Cottage Grove Sentinel
