After the abysmal Lone Ranger, Disney's stock seems to have gone up 1.3%. Mind boggling, right? The answer is of course, Star Wars.
Credit Suisse analyst Michael Senno estimates that Disney will make $733 million in profit-- that's $1.2 billion in global ticket sales-- from Star Wars Episode VII, which means that the company still ought to remain a solid investment. He didn't pull that number out from thin air, of course-- the final Star Wars prequel, Revenge of the Sith, made $850 million worldwide, and of course Disney's last giant hit The Avengers was a huge global success, making $1.5 billion. If anything, $1.2 billion for Star Wars Episode VII might be lowballing it.
Star Wars Episode VII isn't set for release until 2015, and maybe even later than that depending on how J.J. Abrams plans it, so obviously that's a long time to wait for investors to get their return. But the potential of a new, good movie in the Star Wars universe has clearly captured imaginations everywhere, not just in this feverish blog world where we all live. What we know for sure about Star Wars Episode VII right now is pretty much nothing, beyond Abrams as director, Michael Arndt as producer and Kathleen Kennedy as the new overseer of Lucasfilm. But speculation has led us pretty much everywhere, from the near-certain return of Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford to casting notices for a bunch of teenagers to take over the lead role. We'll be paying nonstop attention to Episode VII between now and whenever it opens.