‘Star Wars: Episode 7’ Ticket Sales Expected to Ease Disney’s ‘Lone Ranger’ Pain

“Star Wars: Episode VII” isn’t slated to hit theaters until summer 2015, but that isn’t stopping industry analysts from forecasting the film’s chances at the box office.

Not surprisingly, “Episode VII” is expected to do very, very well — to the tune of $ 1.2 billion in global ticket sales. Credit Suisse analyst Michael Senno came up with that figure, adding that $ 733 million of that total is expected to be pure profit.

That’s a far cry from last week’s dismal opening of “The Lone Ranger,” which is expected to lose Disney about $ 150 million. Still, with “Episode VII”‘s future looking so bright — not to mention the $ 1.5 billion in international receipts for “The Avengers” Disney’s already raked in — it’s probably hard for the studio to be too depressed.

The last “Star Wars” prequel, 2005’s “Revenge of the Sith,” made $ 850 million at the global box office. It’s been a long wait for fans of the venerable sci-fi franchise, and it looks like for Disney and audiences alike, “Episode VII”‘s far, far away release date can’t come soon enough.

[via Variety]