The two most successful films of 2015, Star Wars: The Force Awakens (released on December 15th by Disney) and Jurassic World (released on June 9th by Universal) were returns to two of the biggest movie franchises of all time.
The Force Awakens, episode 7 in the sci-fi saga (confusingly, the original trilogy were 4, 5 and 6 while 1, 2 and 3 were the more recent), was the first to be released since Disney’s acquisition of Lucasfilms in 2012, and the directorial debut of JJ Abrams. It features some of the stars of the original movies – including the popular pairing of Harrison Ford’s maverick Han Solo and Carrie Fisher’s Princess Leia – and some strong new characters like Daisy Ridley as the female lead, Rey.
It’s a simultaneously thrilling and joyous return to the roots of the series, summed up by a still-agile seventy-something Han Solo’s words: ‘Chewie, we’re home’. Rave reviews (even from some critics who unconvinced about Star Wars) and a well-timed and unstoppable social media frenzy before the event, helped The Force Awakens to massive first-weekend takings of $247,966,675 and ultimately to a worldwide box office record of $2,057,221,133.
Universal Studios’ Jurassic World is a return to the island of the dinosaurs, and reprises the ‘monsters running amok’ formula of the originals. The action takes place amidst a fully-formed theme park, mingling roller-coasters with real dinosaurs, including one genetically modified monster which kills for the fun of it.
The movie stars the ubiquitous Chris (‘Guardians of the Galaxy’) Pratt with love-interest Bryce Dallas-Howard providing extra fun by outrunning the dinosaurs in killer heels. Although the critics were less enthusiastic than they were about the new Star Wars movie, Jurassic World for much of 2015 looked at being the year’s runaway box office record-breaker, with domestic first weekend takings of $208,806,270 and an overall worldwide total of $1,670,400,637.
For both studios, indices trading company IG reports that these rebooted franchises were a massive money-spinner in 2015, helping to wipe away the tears shed from two of the year’s biggest turkeys – Tomorrowland (Disney) and Universal’s Jem and the Holograms. It is hard to dispute that Disney took the biggest risk. Reviving the Star Wars series after 10 years has been a massive investment, with spin-offs planned and new theme parks already in the works – even before the film’s release.
As the runaway success of the movie both critically and financially suggests, it’s an investment that looks likely to pay big dividends in the years to come, and Disney has to be considered 2015’s top studio.
