From the outside, "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" might seem like a slam dunk. But inside Disney, nerves are at an all-time high.
In a new report about the film on "60 Minutes," Steven Spielberg says of director J.J. Abrams, "Oh J.J. is terrified. There's a lot of pressure on J.J. to start paying Disney back for, you know, the franchise they bought from George Lucas."
Disney bought "Star Wars" and Lucasfilm from George Lucas for $4 billion in 2012. "Force Awakens" is the company's first movie in the franchise.
As the director hand-picked to lead the effort, J.J. Abrams is shouldering a lot of responsibility to please a fan base that is known to get vocal about its complaints.
According to "60 Minutes,""Force Awakens" needs to make at least $1.5 billion at the box office in order to be considered a success on Wall Street. It's hard to know exactly how this figure was determined, but with a filmmaking budget of $200 million, plus enormous marketing costs, and the investment in Lucas' franchise, it's not surprising that the goals are high.
The new @StarWars film has to make $1.5 billion+ to be considered a success on Wall Street. "J.J. is terrified," says Steven Spielberg
Box-office analysts think Abrams will be just fine, though. Tracking for the film already suggests $2.5 billion in international box office.
You can watch the "60 Minutes" segment below:
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