‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ among AFI’s best films of 2015

Characters of Star Wars take part in an event held for the release of the film “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” in Disneyland Paris in Marne-la-Vallee, France, December 16, 2015. REUTERS

Reuters: ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ racked up its first award on Wednesday when the American Film Institute named it as one of the 10 best films of the year.

‘The Force Awakens’, opening in theatres across the world this week, was included in a list alongside awards front-runners such as Wall Street misdeeds comedy ‘The Big Short’ and lesbian romance drama ‘Carol’.

The American Film Institute’s top films of the year are selected by critics, scholars, TV and film artists and AFI trustees, and come on the heels of this year’s Golden Globe and Screen Actor’s Guild (SAG) nominations.

While ‘Star Wars’ did not receive any Globe or SAG nominations, likely due to the fact that voters would not have seen the film, which has been shrouded in secrecy, its AFI nomination makes it a potential contender for February’s Oscars ceremony.

Awards voters often shun action-packed and special effects-laden big studio fare in favour of more dramatic and grounded stories. But this year, ‘Star Wars’ was named on AFI’s list alongside blockbuster action film ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’ and space adventure ‘The Martian’.

Other films on the list included psychological thriller ‘Room’, Roman Catholic Church newspaper probe ‘Spotlight’, Cold War drama ‘Bridge of Spies’ and Pixar’s animated extravaganza ‘Inside Out’ and rap biopic ‘Straight Outta Compton’.

The AFI also selects the year’s top 10 best television programs.

AMC’s ‘Breaking Bad’ spin-off ‘Better Call Saul’, Fox’s hip-hop family saga ‘Empire’, Netflix comedy ‘Master of None’, USA Network’s cyber hacker drama ‘Mr. Robot’ and Lifetime’s ‘Unreal’, a fictional take on the behind-the-scenes antics of reality show ‘The Bachelor’, were the new shows making the list.

They were named alongside ABC comedy ‘Black-ish’, HBO’s medieval fantasy ‘Game of Thrones’, Showtime’s spy thriller ‘Homeland’, FX’s second season of ‘Fargo’ and Cold War spy series ‘The Americans’.

Advertising drama ‘Mad Men’, which concluded its seven-season run this year, will receive the AFI Special Award.

Composer John Williams, known for his ‘Star Wars’, ‘Indiana Jones’ and ‘Jaws’ soundtracks, will receive a lifetime achievement award. All the films and TV shows will be celebrated at a luncheon on 8 January in Los Angeles.

Strong reviews put ‘Star Wars’ in reach of ‘Jurassic’ box office record

A television presenter does a piece to camera under a giant image of Han Solo, as enthusiasts wait to spot members of the cast at the European Premiere of Star Wars, The Force Awakens in Leicester Square, London, December 16, 2015. REUTERS

Reuters: Glowing reviews on Wednesday boosted weekend forecasts for Walt Disney Co’s ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’, according to box office analysts who projected the long-awaited film will open near the record set this year by ‘Jurassic World’.

The first ‘Star Wars’ movie in a decade will likely haul in between $ 180 million and $ 223 million in the United States and Canada from its Thursday night debut through Sunday, experts said after the film scored a 97% positive rating on review aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes.

But to become one of the top three biggest ever movies worldwide over the long haul, The Force will need to work its power on China, where the movie opens in January.

The current all-time box office champ is 2009’s ‘Avatar’ with $ 2.8 billion in global ticket sales, followed by the 1997 movie ‘Titanic’ with $ 2.2 billion.

‘The Force Awakens’ needs repeat customers in China to reach those numbers. The last ‘Star Wars’ film, 2005’s ‘Revenge of the Sith’, collected just $ 9 million in China.

“That all depends on China,” said Jeff Bock, senior box office analyst at Exhibitor Relations Co. “Outside of ‘Avatar’, sci-fi hasn’t had a really good track record overseas.”