Hang Out with Chewbacca Tonight!

by Ray Keating

News

DisneyBizJournal.com

March 20, 2020

Do you want to hang out with Chewbacca tonight?

As reported by Disney Food Blog, the Vudu streaming service will be hosting a “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Vudu View Party” tonight at 9:00 PM EST. 

What’s the big deal? Well, it will be hosted by Joonas Suotamo, who played Chewbacca in Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi, Solo: A Star Wars Story and Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker, as well as the video game Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run.

Disney Food Blog notes: “You can join in on the party by signing up on Vudu for the low, low price of free and signing in tomorrow [i.e., today].” Head over to Vudu.com.

Ray Keating is the editor, publisher and economist for DisneyBizJournal.com, and author of The Disney Planner 2020: The TO DO List Solution and the Pastor Stephen Grant novels. He can be contacted at  raykeating@keatingreports.com.

The Big Jump Back for Star Wars at Disney

by Ray Keating

DisneyBizJournal.com

January 6, 2020

If any doubt existed about the success of Star Wars at the box office, it has been laid to rest. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is closing on $1 billion at the box office.

Perhaps some will respond: “Yeah, so what?” Well, let’s put this in perspective.

Consider that while Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017) earned $1.3 billion in box office gross, it also – as we have noted before – failed miserably in terms of story and fan appeal. Its fan score on RottenTomatoes.com stands at a miserable 43 percent.

That was followed by Solo: A Star Wars Story, which, while a solid Star Warsentry, failed at the box office, taking in only $393 million. The likely total cost for the film topped $400 million.

So, Disney and LucasFilm had reason to be nervous about the release of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. And then came mixed reviews from critics, with a score of 54 percent on RottenTomatoes.com. 

But actual moviegoers and fans have given a resounding thumbs up, with an 86 percent score on RottonTomatoes.com and handing over $919 million in box office gross through yesterday, according to BoxOfficeMojo.com. So, while The Rise of Skywalker has only been out for two weeks, its gross has managed to beat the full box office take for Solo by 134 percent ... and counting. I’m guessing that Skywalker will wind up topping the $1.3 billion raked in by The Last Jedi.

At the same time, the lengthy lines and glowing reviews for the Star Wars: The Rise of the Resistance attraction in Walt Disney World – which will open on January 17 in Disneyland – and the success of The Mandalorian on Disney+ points to Star Wars relief and profits at Disney. 

And yes, in a told-you-so moment, this is exactly what DisneyBizJournal predicted in previous pieces. You’re welcome. ;-) 

Ray Keating is the editor, publisher and economist for DisneyBizJournal.com, and author of The Disney Planner 2020: The TO DO List Solutionand the Pastor Stephen Grant novels. He can be contacted at  raykeating@keatingreports.com.