How Exactly Has Star Wars Made $37 Billion? In 2012, George Lucas sold his company Lucasfilm to Disney for the staggering sum of $4 billion. Even more staggering is the $37 billion that Star Wars has raked in over the past 40 years. The Star Wars universe now comprises a vast array of products, from movies and TV shows to videogames and toys. But it all started with one movie, Star Wars (later Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope), whose modest $11 million budget was less than the average studio comedy at the time. The film’s brash, upstart quality is part of its appeal.
“It feels like an indie flick that just happens to have the most amazing, eye-popping stuff in it,” says Brian Stillman, who recently directed a feature-length documentary about Star Wars toys called Plastic Galaxy. Those toys played a major role in the film’s success, and helped bankroll its sequel, The Empire Strikes Back. “He didn’t even imagine action figures would be a big thing,” says Chris Taylor, author of the new book How Star Wars Conquered the Universe.
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Star Wars films have force to boost UK economy by £150m | Business News | News | The Independent. Production of the next Star Wars movie has brought an economic impact of some £150 million to Britain, according to company accounts. Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens will be released in the UK in December. Although the première is some three months away, publicity for the film is soaring. There was an announcement of a new line of toys and products for the film from Disney, the studio which is making it. The Force Awakens’ second trailer is the most viewed film trailer on YouTube in a 24-hour period, having been watched more than 30 million times in a day when it was released in April. Star Wars: The Force Awakens in pictures The supply of suitable staff is one of the key reasons for shooting in Britain. The film has been made at Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire, and in the period ended November last year, direct production staff peaked at 258.
Together they were paid a total of £11.2m, contributing to the total £147.6m costs of the picture over the period. Overthinking Star Wars | The Economics of Death Star Planet Destruction. Welcome to Overthinking It, the site that subjects the popular culture to a level of scrutiny it probably doesn't deserve. There's much more where this came from, so if you like this article: Lee Cost-benefit analysis, anyone? What’s the economic calculus behind the Empire’s tactic of A) building a Death Star, B) intimidating planets into submission with the threat of destruction, and C) actually carrying through with said destruction if the planet doesn’t comply? Doesn’t the Empire take a huge economic loss from the lost productivity of an entire planet?
They were presumably paying taxes and providing resources to the rest of the Empire. Presumably the loss of that planet’s output would have to be made up by increased output from other planets that were either slacking in productivity due to rebellion or threatening to rebel and withdraw from the Empire altogether. McNeil Did these stormtroopers have problems with blaster fire accuracy? Perich War in general makes poor economic sense. Fenzel.
Electronic Arts raises sales forecast for Star Wars' videogame. Category:Finance - Wookieepedia, the Star Wars Wiki - Wikia. The 10 Most Valuable Star Wars Action Figures. A long time ago, in a state sort of far away, George Lucas created a sci-fi world which spawned numerous sequels, video games, books and toys. Star Wars is one of the most successful franchises of all time with its six films generating over $8 billion in revenue and a total franchise revenue, as confirmed by Forbes, entering the $27 billion range. Whether you grew up in the 1970s, 80s, 90s or early 2000s, Star Wars likely influenced you in some way. With Disney now in control of the franchise, you can expect a slew of new movies and merchandise as Mickey looks to cash in on a proven money maker – and hopefully make up for the last three films released in the series.
Of course, many of us fell in love with the movies, went to see them in theatres and owned the VHS tapes – ah, those massive bulky tapes that degraded over time. The following list looks at 10 of the most valuable Star Wars action figures. 10. Via forum.rebelscum.com 9. Via jedidefender.com 8. 7. What? 6. 5. 4. Via thomazb.com. The Force: Star Wars Franchise Worth Over $30 Billion and Growing. 24/7 Wall St. has decided to calculate the total value of the Star Wars franchise ahead of the release of the 3D film “Star Wars: The Phantom Menace” and while its ‘Star Wars: The Old Republic’ MMORPG video game is going strong.
Calculating a total value for a franchise this large and spanning 35 years is no easy task. Our projections and figures are based upon existing data and also consider some loose projections ahead. If you use the publicly available figures for Star Wars and consider more recent events, the total value is already over $30 billion. Sources vary from all over the web, and mainstream media articles often have different figures when they are close together in time. Official sales data is not updated all the time. The relaunch of the movie franchise in 3D is likely to boost the franchise’s value much more when you count ticket sales, and then tally up merchandise sales, new media sales, product sales and more. Star Wars creator George Lucas is now a multi-billionaire. Future Marvel Star Wars Comics Will Take Place In Different Time Periods. At Comic-Con International: San Diego, Marvel Comics announced that they would be launching a new line of Star Wars comics, which will become official canon of the Star Wars universe Three titles will kick the line off – a main Star Wars series, a Darth Vader series, and a Princess Leia solo series – all of which are set during the classic trilogy Star Wars era, specifically between the events of Episodes IV and V.
Marvel’s new Star Wars comics won’t stay in that era exclusive, however. Speaking to the podcast Coffee with Kenobi, Marvel’s Star Wars line editor Jordan D. White revealed that Marvel already has plans to launch a series set during a different time period in the Star Wars universe. “With these first series, we wanted to stick all in the same era in order to create the sort of inter-connected universe feel we get between Marvel books,” he said. “But I am certain we’re going to be turning to those other eras in future series. Or maybe they’ll explore something new entirely. Marvel 'Star Wars' Comics May Be Coming Sooner Than Expected. When it was announced in January that Disney was moving the Star Wars comic license to Marvel Entertainment as part of the corporation's ramping up of the property ahead of 2015's J.J.
Abrams-directed Star Wars: Episode VII, it was believed that the changeover would be happening at the start of next year. Two recent developments suggest it will actually be coming much sooner. Firstly, Dark Horse Comics -- the current Star Wars comic license holders -- announced information about its August 2014 releases last week, featuring not only the final issues of its ongoing Star Wars-related series (Star Wars, Star Wars: Darth Maul and Star Wars: Legacy), but also what appears to be the final collections of Dark Horse material related to the movie series, including stories released in single-issue format that same month.
STORY: Lucasfilm Unveils New Plans for 'Star Wars' Expanded Universe (Video) History of science fiction films. The history of science fiction films parallels that of the motion picture industry as a whole, although it took several decades before the genre was taken seriously. Since the 1960s, major science fiction films have succeeded in pulling in large audience shares, and films of this genre have become a regular staple of the film industry. Science fiction films have led the way in special effects technology, and have also been used as a vehicle for social commentary. Silent film[edit] Science fiction films appeared very early in the silent film era. The initial attempts were short films of typically 1 to 2 minutes in duration, shot in black and white, but sometimes with colour tinting.
These usually had a technological theme, and were often intended to be humorous. 1930s and 1940s[edit] Post-War and 1950s[edit] Two events at the end of World War II had major impacts on the science fiction genre. The success of science fiction films also saw the genre grow internationally. 1960s[edit] 12 Movies That Inspired Star Wars. The original Star Wars trilogy were highly influential films that changed how science fiction films were imagined and how special effects were used. But Star Wars was not created in a vacuum. Instead, the men and women behind Star Wars blended together diverse inspirations from a variety of different genres, pulling from samurai films, wild west movies, space opera serials, and World War II dramas. George Lucas and his creative team pulled seamlessly and blended these seemingly unrelated stories in order to create the characters, worlds, and plots of Star Wars.
The films that are presented on this list all affected the creation of the original Star Wars trilogy, and their influence has been noted by George Lucas or other people on the production team. Before Star Wars: The Force Awakens is released on December 18th, you can tide yourself over by watching these 12 Movies that Inspired Star Wars. Seven Samurai (1954) Flash Gordon serials (1936) Triumph of the Will (1935) J. Metropolis (1927) Cultural impact of Star Wars. George Lucas' multi-film Star Wars saga has had a significant impact on modern popular culture. Star Wars references are deeply embedded in popular culture;[1] references to the main characters and themes of Star Wars are casually made in many English-speaking countries with the assumption that others will understand the reference. Darth Vader has become an iconic villain. Phrases like "evil empire" and "May the Force be with you" have become part of the popular lexicon.[2] The first Star Wars film in 1977 was a cultural unifier,[3] enjoyed by a wide spectrum of people.[4] Impact on filmmaking[edit] The holographic video effect associated with Star Wars served as a technological tool for CNN during its 2008 Election Night coverage.
Financial impact on Fox[edit] 20th Century Fox optioned Star Wars. The Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum had an exhibition called "Star Wars: The Magic of Myth". Political impact[edit] Celebrity fans[edit] Actors and comedians[edit] Musicians[edit] Forbes Welcome. "The Force Awakens" Shatters "Hunger Games" Record. The Force Is With Electronic Arts. Electronic Arts is back from the “dark side”. The video game publisher, voted the “worst company in America” on the Consumerist.com website in 2012 and 2013, is forecasting record revenue this year thanks to the anticipated success of a new Star Wars-themed game launching in November.
EA said on Thursday that “extremely strong” preorders for “Star Wars: Battlefront” were behind its decision to raise its full-year revenue forecast to $4.45 billion from $4.40 billion. It was the first time in 15 years that the Redwood City, California-based company had raised its revenue forecast in the first quarter, Jefferies analysts said in a client note. EA’s shares fell on what appeared to be an underwhelming forecast, but analysts said the company was likely being cagey.
And expectations are high. “They’ve done an incredible job with the game,” said Ben Howard, an executive at video game review site GameSpot, who played the game at the E3 gaming industry trade fair in June. Star Wars: for all ages, all of the time? | Eleven-ThirtyEight. Star Wars is meant for kids. George Lucas agreeing to take the rights to sell T-shirts and lunchboxes and plastic snowtroopers in lieu of a pay hike is proof of that.
Star Wars has always been meant for kids. But it was its ability to draw in everyone else that made it one of the most commercially successful films in history. Adjusted for inflation, only Avatar and Gone with the Wind fare better. Despite its monolithic cultural influence, no other Star Wars movie comes close to beating A New Hope. Far more intelligent people than I have tried to explain why the prequels were seen by so many as a disappointment, but it was never really the children that it disappointed. There’s a complicated discussion to be had about whether that’s because kids will accept anything as long as it’s shiny or whether adults are just cynical and greedy, but I think it’s fairly uncontroversial to say that the prequels focused more sharply on that younger demographic.
Don’t tell me that’s not toilet humour… Star Wars (comics) Comic books based on Star Wars have been published by Marvel Comics, Dark Horse Comics and Tokyopop. Charles Lippincott, Lucasfilm's publicity supervisor, initially approached Stan Lee in 1975 about publishing a Star Wars comic book prior to the film's release to appeal to the film's most likely audience. However, Lee declined to consider such a proposal until the film was completed, and was only persuaded otherwise in a second meeting arranged by Roy Thomas, who wanted to edit the series. Considering movie tie-in comics rarely sold well at that time, Lee negotiated a publishing arrangement with no royalties to Lucasfilm until sales exceeded 100,000 at which point legal arrangements could be revisited.[1] Marvel Comics Group published a series of Star Wars comic books from 1977 to 1986, lasting 107 issues and 3 annuals.
In 1991, Dark Horse started publishing Star Wars comics, initially with mini-series such as Dark Empire, Tales of the Jedi and Crimson Empire. Star Wars (1977) Star Wars Franchise Box Office History - The Numbers. October 13th, 2015 There are two $100 million movies on this week's list of Home Market Releases: Spy, which earned more than $100 million domestically, and Tomorrowland, which merely cost more than $100 million to make. Spy is arguably the best release on this week's list, but the Blu-ray was already named Pick of the Week, so that honor is going to Aladdin's Blu-ray debut this week. More... November 9th, 2014 Star Wars: The Clone Wars was a digitally animated TV series that took place inbetween Episode II and Episode III. April 22nd, 2014 Captain America: The Winter Soldier won the weekend box office race with a better than expected result and this helped it reach $200 million.
October 14th, 2013 It's a good week on the home market with two $100 million hits coming out: The Heat and Pacific Rim. March 30th, 2013 Willow came out 25 years ago. November 18th, 2012 The beginning of the end for the Twilight franchise is here, and, as expected, big money is being made by Lionsgate/Summit.