Restaurant Owner Paul Denamiel on Star Wars Success

After "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" was released on December 14th of 2017, Hollywood anticipated remarkable numbers for its opening weekend. Presently, the movie has accumulated a whopping $934.2 million around the world, which is a number that will almost certainly keep growing. This means that, on average, every single day brings in around $58 million for the franchise.

Even with the astronomical figures, people like Paul Denamiel believe that every cent earned is well deserved. Denamiel, who runs one of the New York's finest restaurants that specializes in French cuisine, has been a fan of Star Wars since "Episode IV - A New Hope" came out in 1977. Nowadays, he is one of the many supporters who rally behind Hollywood and their decisions to keep producing these high-quality movies that prolong the story which started four decades ago.

Glancing over the list of top-grossing movies of all time, The Last Jedi has already climbed to the 40th spot. Even more impressive is the fact that another $58 million payday would push this movie 9 places forward to the 31st spot. Thus, companies like Warner Bros., Paramount Pictures, and Universal Pictures, all of whom reside in Hollywood, certainly have plenty to be worried about. Consequently, one must ask what are some of the factors that fans like Paul Denamiel attribute to the never-ending success of this franchise?

Well, one of the potential answers is female viewers. Although the crowd that attends the opening weekend for Star Wars movies has been predominantly male, there was a 10% increase in the number of women that went to see the movie between December 15th-17th. This showcases the latest trend of social inclusion that Hollywood has been paying attention to with more female characters and increased appeals to female viewers.

The benefit of this approach suddenly translates into a family attraction. Since Star Wars have been around for 40 years, a lot of contemporary parents can probably remember watching these movies when they were in their teenage times. Additionally, the average viewer tends to be anywhere from 18 to 44 years of age which is the most common time people engage in a family-based, Christmas movie. Denamiel, an established New York chef, is a prime example. Being born in a working family like most other Americans, family values tend to be the unifying factor for countless households. This is why Hollywood timed the movie's release during that time of the year that families will most likely be together. On top of that, all those female characters and women-friendly motions facilitated a heavy interest from working moms around the United States.

Ironically, a large population of the hard-core fans of Star Wars was not born when some of its 20th-century sequels came out. Those who have had the honor to witness every other movie in real time, like Denamiel and Hollywood veteran critics, may enjoy the way that previous plot holes were addressed. The new movie had its own bugs, naturally, yet nowhere near as many as "The Force Awakens" that came out in 2015. Some fans are still imperceptibly bothered by the unexplained elements like Rey's ability to speak Wookie or her fighting talents, Finn's lightsaber skills, and the worthless technology of Stormtroopers that has showcased the extent of its uselessness in nearly every movie. The Last Jedi, on the other hand, answered quite a few questions that people had going to the premiere, which undoubtedly promoted better satisfaction rates.

Lastly, one must take note of all the non-movie celebrities that view it as fans. When Hollywood-based stars like Emma Stone, Anna Kendrick, and Neil Patrick Harris promote the movie because of pure love for it, they recruit millions of people from their own fan base. This ascertained supplementary demand from those individuals who may have never even seen Star Wars before. Notwithstanding, it is loyal fans like the popular New York chef mentioned previously that keep this industry flowing smoothly with the release of every new film.