The document compares the production, marketing, distribution, and reception of the films The Force Awakens and Suffragette. The Force Awakens had a $245 million budget from Walt Disney Pictures and grossed over $2 billion globally. Suffragette had a smaller $14 million budget from independent studio Ruby Films and grossed $16 million in limited release. While The Force Awakens saw widespread success due to its large budget and Disney backing, Suffragette faced challenges in distribution and scale as an independent film. Both films received critical acclaim, though The Force Awakens was commercially far more successful.

1. CASE STUDIES:
A COMPARISON OF THE TWO FILMS
THE FORCE AWAKENS
& SUFFRAGETTE

2. PRODUCTION
THE FORCE AWAKENS
• Walt Disney Motion Pictures
(Conglomerate)
• -Kathleen Kennedy
• -JJ Abrams
• $245M
SUFFRAGETTE
• Ruby Films
(Independent)
• -Alison Owen
• -Faye Ward
• $14M

3. PRODUCTION
THE FORCE AWAKENS
• Kathleen Kennedy
• Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), Back
to the Future Part III (1990), Jurassic
Park 3 (2001), War Horse (2011)
SUFFRAGETTE
• Alison Owen
• Saving Mr Banks (2013), Jane Eyre
(2011), The Other Boleyn Girl (2008),
Shaun of the Dead (2004)

4. PRODUCTION:
(MAIN) CAST & CREW, FILMING LOCATIONS
THE FORCE AWAKENS
• JJ Abrams
• Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, John
Boyega, Daisy Ridley
• England, Iceland, Abu Dhabi,
Scotland, New Mexico, California
SUFFRAGETTE
• Alison Owens
• Carey Mulligan, Helena Bonham-
Carter, Meryl Streep, Brendan
Gleeson
• England

5. PRODUCTION: TECHNOLOGY
THE FORCE AWAKENS
• 35mm cameras
• 65mm IMAX cameras
• CGI
SUFFRAGETTE
• 16mm cameras
• Arri’s Alexa

6. POST-PRODUCTION
THE FORCE AWAKENS
• Bad Robot Productions (Santa
Monica)
• Converted to 3D
SUFFRAGETTE
• Barney Pilling (England)

7. MARKETING
THE FORCE AWAKENS
• -Appearances on TV
• -Trailer debuted live at Star Wars
convention
• -Hashtags and interactions with fans
through social media accounts
• -(Digital) posters
• Merchandising
• Partnerships with companies
SUFFRAGETTE
• Appearances on TV
• -Star Power
• -Social media
• -(Digital posters)
• Merchandising

8. MARKETING: SYNERGOUS CAMPAIGNS
THE FORCE AWAKENS
• -Covergirl & Max Factor
• -Facebook
• -Google
• -Verizon
• -Duracell
• -Subway
• -Duracell
• -Hasbro Toys
SUFFRAGETTE
• -Social media
• -Facebook
• -Twitter
• -Instagram
• Hashtags were used on these
accounts to encourage their audience
to interact

9. MARKETING: CROSS MEDIA CONVERGENCE
THE FORCE AWAKENS
• -Video games
• -Apps on the App Stores
• -Comic books and novels
• -Clothing and accessories
• -Toys and collectables
SUFFRAGETTE
• -Hashtags on social media
• -Posters
• -Clothing
• -Accessories

10. DISTRIBUTION
THE FORCE AWAKENS
• Walt Disney Motion Pictures
• Saturation
• Over 30,000 screens worldwide
SUFFRAGETTE
• Pathé (UK & Ireland)
• Focus Features (US & Canada)
• Modified Wide/ Limited release
• -in UK, only in Vue & Cineworld
• 517 screens worldwide

11. EXHIBITION
THE FORCE AWAKENS
• Dec 18th 2015
• 24 weeks
• 2D, 3D, IMAX
SUFFRAGETTE
• Oct 12th 2015
• 12 weeks
• 2D

12. EXHIBITION
THE FORCE AWAKENS
• $2,058,662,225
• $1.81BN
• Global
• Download (from Disney): April 1st 2016
• DVD & Blu-Ray: April 5th 2016
SUFFRAGETTE
• $16,002,420
• $2M
• UK, US & Canada
• Download, DVD & Blu-Ray:
• US & Canada: 2nd Feb 2016
• UK: 29th Feb 2016

13. EXHIBITION
THE FORCE AWAKENS
• Males, (primarily fans of the original
films) aged 18-50
• ABC1
SUFFRAGETTE
• Females, aged 18-35
• ABC1

14. RECEPTION
THE FORCE AWAKENS
• 49 awards & 117 nominations
• BAFTA: Best Special Effects
SUFFRAGETTE
• 14 awards & 14 nominations
• Turia: Best Foreign Film

15. RECEPTION
THE FORCE AWAKENS
• Praised for countering the typical
stereotype of a male hero in action
films
• Praised for diversity
SUFFRAGETTE
• Accused of erasure and whitewashing
the struggle for equal rights

16. OVERALL
TFA was obviously the more successful film-which is evident when seeing how it
made a profit of over $1.5BN.
However, Suffragette did the best it could but due to having a smaller budget and a
smaller distribution company, it was unable to have the same impact that TFA did.
The larger budget and the partnership with a large conglomerate (that was also part
of an oligopoly that controlled 90% of the US film industry) is ultimately what led to
TFA’s success