If you're wondering why the release of Star Wars: Episode VIII was pushed back several months, than you should probably blame the recent box office earnings.
According to a Disney source close to TheWrap says, “‘The Force Awakens' broke the mold for what a December title can do and the shift made a lot of strategic sense.”
“The Force Awakens' broke the mold for what a December title can do and the shift made a lot of strategic sense.”
J.J. Abrams' Star Wars: The Force Awakens broke several records over the final two weeks of 2015 and dethroned the highest grossing movie of all time, Avatar. The original opening date for the next Star Wars movie was expected to be released on May 26, 2017. And now it will open seven months later on December 15th.
The previous May opening may have missed the big family audience that come together during the holidays. But, how will this effect production? According to reports, director Rian Johnson has no problems. The studio did secretely move up Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales to the previous Star Wars release date.
“If you look at ‘Pirates,' that franchise has previously had a lot of success in May, with the last one making more than a billion with a similar release,” the insider said.
