"Star Wars: Force Awakens' Breaks Another Box Office Record. What This Time?

Disney and JJ Abrams are laughing all the way to the bank, only to be called back because the box office is again overflowing with money. One has to wonder if George Lucas has gotten the message yet. George, if you try making a film rather than a special effects bonanza, people will come and see it. They love the characters you created. You just made very crappy movies. JJ Abrams' entry into the Star Wars franchise, Force Awakens, is proof of that. Morever, as the new year came about, the sci-fi epic has torn apart yet another record. What, this time?

According to the Hollywood Reporter, "Star Wars: The Force Awakens scored the top New Year's Day gross of all time in North America with $34.5 million from 4,134 theaters, as it approached the $700 million mark after overtaking both Jurassic World and Titanic, not accounting for inflation. Avatar was the previous New Year's champ with $25.3 million in 2009 (that was the last time the holiday also fell on a Friday)"

This was just another of a long line of records that has been falling at the feet of JJ and his band of rebels. Through this past Sunday, the North American total checks in at $742 million and registers as the second all-time biggest money-maker.

Meanwhile, creator and big grouch, George Lucas, has been publicly simmering about selling, or as he might put it, criticizing Disney's ethical standards. He apologized for calling Disney "white slavers", no doubt somewhat envious of the success Abrams and Team Disney are having. The Hollywood Reporter had this to say, "They wanted to do a retro movie. I don't like that. Every movie, I worked very hard to make them different, I made them completely different - different planets, different spaceships, to make it new."