Epic battle of box office history
The seventh installment in the Star Wars franchise, The Force Awakens, is undoubtedly a powerhouse. Critics raved about whether it would wreak havoc at the box office. Avatar was officially released on December 18, 2009, and Star Wars VII was released six years later. Both films had production budgets in excess of $200 million and were rated PG-13 by the English Language, Science Fiction and MPAA. Both films were released in 2D, 3D and IMAX 3D.
Avatar is the defending champion with $2.788 billion and Titanic is second with $2.186 billion. Both “Avatar” and “Titanic” were written and directed by Canadian filmmaker James Cameron. In addition to being the highest-grossing film of all time, Avatar was nominated for nine Academy Awards and won three. 20th Century Fox is expected to begin releasing three sequels to Avatar in December 2017.
The highest-grossing Star Wars film to date, The Phantom Menace, was released on May 19, 1999. The Phantom Menace came in at No. 20 with $1.027 billion in sales. Star Wars: The Force Awakens is directed, co-produced and co-written by American director and producer JJ Abrams. “The Force Awakens” is the first film in the “Star Wars” sequel trilogy, and Walt Disney expects to release the remaining two in the next few years.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens – $2.065 billion
- Total Box Office: $2.065 billion
- Domestic Box Office: $93,591
- Foreign Box Office: $1.129 billion
- Production Budget: $200 million
- type: sci-fi, fantasy
- MPAA Rating: PG-13
- operation hours: 2 hours. 16 minutes.
- release date: December 18, 2015
- directed by: JJ Abrams
- Depend on. . . Production: Katherine Kennedy, JJ Abrams, Brian Burke
- author: Lawrence Kasdan, JJ Abrams, Michael Arndt
- based on: role of george lukas
- Starring: Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong’o, Ann Dee Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, Max von Sydow
- music: John Williams
- photography: Dammindel
- edit: Mary Jo Markey, Marianne Brandon
- production company: Lucasfilm Ltd., Bad Robot Productions
- Distributor: Walt Disney Studios Movies / Buena Vista
- nation: America
- language: English
Avatar – $2.788 billion
- Total Box Office: $2.788 billion
- Domestic Box Office: $760.507 million
- Foreign Box Office: $2.027 billion
- Production Budget: $237 million
- type: sci-fi, adventure
- MPAA Rating: PG-13
- operation hours: 2 hours. 40 minutes.
- release date: December 18, 2009 (US), December 17, 2009 (UK)
- directed by: James Cameron
- Depend on. . . Production: James Cameron, Jon Landau
- author: James Cameron
- Starring: Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Stephen Lang, Michelle Rodriguez, Sigourney Weaver
- music: James Horner
- photography: Mauro Fiore
- edit: James Cameron, John Rifoah, Stephen E. Rifkin
- production company: Lightstorm Entertainment, Dune Entertainment, Ingenious Film Partners
- Distributor: 20th Century Fox
- nation: America England
- language: English
- Awards: Nine Oscar nominations, three wins
