Can the ‘Star Wars’ force awaken a holiday record?

Geetha Ranganathan, Paul Sweeney, Joshua Yatskowitz Bloomberg Intelligence analysts

Hollywood holiday record needs a ‘Star Wars’ show of force

The 2015 holiday movie season could set a record with a slate of highly anticipated releases, including a James Bond film, the last “Hunger Games” installment and “Star Wars.”

The season, which runs from the first weekend in November through New Year’s weekend, makes up about 25% of the domestic box office.

It’s Hollywood’s second-biggest season after summer. Boxoffice.com estimates the 2015 season at $2.74 billion, which may challenge the $2.9 billion 2009 record that was boosted by “Avatar.”

Sony James Bond flick kicks off holiday season with $90 million

Sony’s new James Bond movie, “Spectre,” may take in $90 million when it opens Nov. 6, en route to a projected domestic total of $230 million. The movie brought in $64 million in its Oct. 26 debut in the U.K. “Spectre” will help boost receipts for Sony, which is trailing all its peers except Paramount.

James Bond films have grossed an average $219 million domestically, adjusted for inflation, according to Box Office Mojo. “Spectre” opens the same weekend as Fox’s “Peanuts Movie.”

‘Hunger Games’ odds favor $134 million opening in series finale

“The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2,” Lionsgate’s final installment in the franchise, may bring in $134 million when it debuts Nov. 20. The movie’s domestic haul may reach $348 million, slightly more than the last release in 2014, which grossed $337 million.

Lionsgate scrapped its plans to release the movie in 3-D domestically, though it could benefit from the format in international theaters.

The three prior movies have taken in $771 million in ticket sales on average at the global box office.

Disney ‘Good Dinosaur’ may be sleeper hit, fetch $257 million

Disney Pixar’s animated film “The Good Dinosaur” may take in $60 million in its Nov. 25 opening. The movie may bring in a domestic total of $257 million, according to Boxoffice.com estimates.

Pixar’s earlier release in this year, “Inside Out,” has sold a domestic total of $355 million, making it the year’s third-highest-grossing film to date

Fox’s “Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip,” which opens Dec. 18, is projected to take $10 million in its debut and appears unlikely to pose much competition.

Star Wars ‘Force’ may awaken record $215 million December debut

Disney’s “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” may bring in $215 million in its opening weekend Dec. 18, to make it the biggest domestic debut of all time.

The record is held by Universal’s “Jurassic World,” which opened in June to $209 million.

Star Wars” could bring in $762 million in its domestic box office run, according to Boxoffice.com. Entertainment Weekly projected a $3 billion worldwide haul, which would make it the biggest-grossing film of all time, breaking “Avatar’s” $2.8 billion record.

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