This weekend millions of Americans traveled to a galaxy far, far away to see the highly anticipated premiere of the newest addition to the Star Wars series.
Episode VII: The Force Awakens generated not only a cult-like pop culture sensation, but also $120.5 million on opening day, making it the highest-grossing film on opening day ever.
In preparation for the premiere, fans bought tickets months in advance, arrived at theaters hours early, and many changed their profile pictures on social media to include a Facebook-sponsored lightsaber frame.
Senior Matthew Dimitrov, an employee at Regal Cinemas in Bethesda, said the movie has generated more buzz than any other movie premiere he’s seen in his time working at Regal.
“I worked three days this weekend and have never seen anything like it,” Dimitrov said. “We had full theaters for almost all of our shows. It was crazy.”
After the opening weekend, students and teachers have nothing but praise for the film. Students described the theaters as packed and lively; some even dressed up in costume for the premiere.
“Every seat was taken and everyone was as excited about it as I was,” said sophomore Will Koenig, who wore a Jedi robe to the theater. “When a character was revealed in the movie, the whole crowd would just erupt with applause.”
This episode is notorious for its plot twists, so the mere mention of the words “Star Wars” in the halls causes heads to turn and the people to be shushed to prevent spoilers for those who haven’t seen it yet.
“Everyone has been threatening me if I spoil stuff,” junior Keara Sullivan said. “I feel pretty powerful and people are treating me with a lot of respect now that I saw it.”
Many of those who have seen it said the movie exceeded their expectations.
Sophomore Elliot Kelly said before he saw Episode VII, he was worried it may stray too far from the original trilogy like the most prequel episodes I, II, and III, did. But after seeing the movie, Kelly said he was pleasantly surprised.
“It stayed pretty similar and along the same path,” he said. “It still incorporated the old characters while introducing new characters very well and it was pretty funny too.”
This episode incorporated many new characters while keeping actors from previous episodes as well. The combination of sci-fi, romance, action and comedy appealed to a multitude of emotions, creating a box-office success.
“It was everything I ever wanted and more,” Sullivan said. “I cried, I laughed and it was amazing.”
