Abu Dhabi plans to use ‘Force’ sets as tourist attraction
Strong reviews put ‘Star Wars’ in reach of ‘Jurassic’ box office
LOS ANGELES, Dec 17, (RTRS): Abu Dhabi is making the most of its hosting a portion of the shoot of “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” with plans to use some remains of the sets as a tourist attraction going forward.
Media and entertainment hub twofour54 is creating a giant Star Wars-themed installation featuring the Starkiller Base from the latest instalment, while props and set pieces used in the UAE desert are being unveiled tonight (December 16) to wow invitees at the pic’s Middle East red carpet premiere being held at Abu Dhabi’s sumptuous Emirates Palace hotel.
Twofour54 CEO Noura Al Kaabi has confirmed to Variety that some of the “Star Wars” sets in two Liwa desert locations which doubled as Jakku, the frontier desert planet in a remote section of the Outer Rim Territories, will become a tourist attraction, though further details are being kept under wraps.
Shooting on the latest “Star Wars” installment in the Emirate took place in May 2014 with a crew of more than 650 working across the two desert locations. Pic tapped into Abu Dhabi’s 30% rebate, applicable to below-the-line-spend and other benefits.
Talent
A 100-meter-high Star-Warsthemed installation is in the works on the facade of Abu Dhabi’s landmark circular coin-shaped Aldar HQ building, which is the world’s first circular skyscraper. Twofour54 has released an image (above) of what the iconic building will look like once the installation is complete.
Though no “Star Wars” talent attended the premiere at Emirates Palace, six stormtroopers from the UK and German garrisons of the 501st Legion and also UAE stormtroopers greeted guests, which included a slew of top Middle East celebs.
Disney is releasing “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” in UAE cinemas with strong pre-sales of reportedly at least 35,000 tickets.
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 percent 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.”
The positive reviews will draw people outside of the rabid “Star Wars” fan base, said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Rentrak.
“That’s what’s going to get it into the billion-dollar club, then the twobillion-dollar club,” he said. “Even more important, this sets the stage and the tone for the whole rebooted franchise.”
Meanwhile, Maybe the Dark Side is to blame.
Fans in Egypt with IMAX tickets for the premiere of “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” were bitterly disappointed when the theater in Cairo said it was cancelling its showings on opening day.
“We are extremely sorry to let you know that the IMAX copy of STAR WARS shipped to our theatre is corrupt,” the theatre said on its Facebook page Wednesday.
“I was livid. We have been planning it since November, reserved tickets online and everything was under control, then they tell us ‘Sorry,’” 34-year-old fan Mahmoud Salem said. “They are lucky people here aren’t die-hard fans. If this had happened in the U.S., they would have set the theatre on fire.”
IMAX Egypt says the movie is showing as scheduled Thursday.