!['Star Wars: The Force Awakens' Expected To Launch $5 Billion In Merchandise Sales In First Year After Film's Release](http://cdn.indiewire.psdops.com/dims4/INDIEWIRE/05aeb26/2147483647/thumbnail/675x404/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fdl9fvu4r30qs1.cloudfront.net%2Fe6%2Fb3%2F8fed0bc44690905603c8cecc51a1%2F1035x690-ep7-ia-35202-r-copy.jpg)
While everyone is still trying to predict what the opening weekend box office numbers might be for "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" — $200 million? $250 million? $300 million? — Disney is trying to play down expectations. Partially because, as chairman Alan Horn says, it's "uncharted territory," but also probably because it's only one part of a much bigger equation. At the end of the day, it appears whatever the movie earns in ticket sales will only be a slice of bigger financial cake.
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Variety reports that analyst Tim Nollen of Macquarie Securities predicts that the first year following the release of "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" is expected to generate $5 billion dollars in franchise merchandise revenue. To put that figure in perspective, that's one-quarter of the $20 billion in "Star Wars" revenue the brand has manufactured in total across 38...