Analyst Predicts Star Wars: The Force Awakens To Make Nearly $2B

We look to the monstrous figures Jurassic World, Avenger: Age of Ultron and Furious 7 have put up, but the biggest box office beast is still lurking in the shadows. When J.J. Abrams Star Wars: The Force Awakens is released in December it could be headed for a $2 billion dollar haul.

Morgan Stanley's Benjamin Swinburne has raised his Star Wars: The Force Awakens box office projections nearly 22%, which puts it on course for a $1.95 billion dollar payday at the global box office. That would make it the third highest-grossing film in box office history, behind Avatar ($2.7B) and Titanic ($2.1B).

Swinburne has grown more bullish due to optimistic international sales. When the Star Wars prequels were released in 1999, 2002, and 2005, international sales were about 1.2 times domestic sales. This time around, Swinburne sees international sales doubling domestic sales. So expect $650 million in domestic ticket sales and $1.3 billion in overseas ticket sales.

To increase their profits on Star Wars, Disney is expected to demand a larger percentage of ticket sales. Typically, there is a 50/50 split between the studio and domestic theaters but Morgan Stanley expects Disney to retain "55-60% of domestic box office receipts and 40-45% of the international take," Swinburne says.

His view of global merchandise sales also has improved. The forecast now assumes that consumers will spend $3 billion a year on licensed toys, clothing, and other assorted SW-related stuff, with about $215 million going back to Disney.

In other realms, Disney might see $350 million in home video revenues, $100 million from video games, and $75 million from global pay TV. - deadline

What's your prediction? Let us know in the comment section.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens arrives in theaters December 18, 2015.