Disney has announced that they won’t screen Star Wars: The Force Awakens for critics ahead of its December release — even if that means it won’t be eligible for certain awards shows.
The Wrap has learned that Disney has opted not to submit The Force Awakens for consideration for the National Board of Review’s Best Film award.
The National Board of Review will publish its top 10 list on December 1, which would mean they’d have to have actually seen the movie before ranking it. But while Disney and J.J. Abrams were willing to arrange a private screening for a terminally ill fan, they will not risk spoiling the plot by submitting it for an awards show. Good Guy Disney, indeed!
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The Wrap speculates that The Force Awakens likely won’t participate in any other early awards shows either, at least not those that require critics to see the film ahead of its December 14 world premiere in Los Angeles.
Of course, as chairman of the New York Film Critics Circle Marshall Fine points out, “This movie won’t need awards to draw a crowd. No one who is thinking about seeing Star Wars is waiting for the critics to weigh in on this film, whether with awards or with reviews, to decide whether to buy a ticket.”
Indeed, the day The Force Awakens tickets went on sale, there was a massive system overload, and when everything finally began working properly, the premiere date tickets practically sold out across the country in record time.
Disney is not only shrouding the film’s plot in secrecy for the fans’ sake, but also to keep the general public’s anticipation levels high. It’s a smart business move, but it also works to our benefit. Everyone wins! Plus, there’s always the Oscars…