Showbiz Sandbox 305: Should “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” Box Office Records Require An Asterisk?
Summary: The release of “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” shattered box office records the world over and became the biggest movie opening of all time by earning $529 million. We explain why in countries such as Japan and South Korea, the latest “Star Wars” not only didn’t win the weekend, but in some cases earned less than earlier installments of the franchise. We also look at the breakdown of which formats audiences favored when buying tickets.<br> George Lucas’ original “Star Wars” movie was released in 1977 and was added to the National Film Registry in 1989. We weigh in on the annual list of films added to the registry by the Library of Congress, charged with selecting new entrants. It always makes for a fascinating mix; we’ll discuss what made this year’s cut there and why. Hint: It’s not always artistry that counts… and no we’re not looking at you “Top Gun.”<br> In music news, it turns out online radio services such as Pandora will soon be paying more to license songs. Meanwhile, Adele is trying to prevent her fans from having to pay more to purchase tickets to see her in concert. We’ll tell you about the growing backlash against the secondary market for concert tickets and what some artists are doing about it.<br> Of course we also cover the week’s top entertainment news including how “Star Wars” bumped Quentin Tarantino’s latest movie out of a historic movie theater, Howard Stern signs a new deal with SiriusXM and the list of this year’s inductees to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.<br> <br> Box Office: ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ Opens to Record $238M for Cosmic $517M Global Launch<br><br> <a href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/box-office-star-wars-force-850340" target="_blank">http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/box-office-star-wars-force-850340</a><br> Foreign Box Office: ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ Blasts Off With $279M<br><br> <a href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/foreign-box-office-star-wars-850387" target="_blank">http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/foreign-box-office-star-wars-850387</a><br> ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ Shatters Box Office Records<br><br> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/21/movies/star-wars-the-force-awakens-shatters-box-office-records.html" target="_blank">http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/21/movies/star-wars-the-force-awakens-shatters-box-office-records.html</a><br> ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ TV Spend at $66 Million and Rising<br><br> <a href="http://adage.com/article/media/star-wars-force-awakens-tv-spend-66/301693/" target="_blank">http://adage.com/article/media/star-wars-force-awakens-tv-spend-66/301693/</a><br> ‘Star Wars’ Carries Its Own Marketing Weight for Disney<br><br> <a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/star-wars-carries-its-own-marketing-weight-for-disney-1449536686" target="_blank">http://www.wsj.com/articles/star-wars-carries-its-own-marketing-weight-for-disney-1449536686</a><br> ‘Ghostbusters,’ ‘Top Gun,’ ‘L.A. Confidential’ Among 2015 National Film Registry Selections<br><br> <a href="https://variety.com/2015/biz/news/national-film-registry-2015-ghostbusters-top-gun-l-a-confidential-1201662032/" target="_blank">https://variety.com/2015/biz/news/national-film-registry-2015-ghostbusters-top-gun-l-a-confidential-1201662032/</a><br> Howard Stern Sets New Five-Year Deal with SiriusXM Satellite Radio That Includes Video Plans<br><br> <a href="https://variety.com/2015/biz/news/howard-stern-5-year-deal-sirius-xm-satellite-radio-1201661527/" target="_blank">https://variety.com/2015/biz/news/howard-stern-5-year-deal-sirius-xm-satellite-radio-1201661527/</a><br> Peak TV: Scripted Series Surpass 400 in 2015<br><br> <a href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/peak-tv-scripted-series-surpass-849541" target="_blank">http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/peak-tv-scripted-series-surpass-849541</a><br> Paramount, Hasbro Creating Movie Universe Around G.I. Joe, Four Other Brands<br><br>
