STAR WARS STARKILLER BASE IN ABU DHABI UAE

Star Wars Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi-UAE: 21 January 2016: Standing at 100m tall and with a surface area of 17,000m2, twofour54 and Aldar Properties PJSC’s epic Starkiller base installation in Abu Dhabi is among the biggest in the world dedicated to Star Wars: The Force Awakens. In the film, Abu Dhabi plays Jakku, a frontier desert planet in a remote section of the Outer Rim Territories.

twofour54 and Aldar Properties PJSC worked together to create the giant Starkiller Base that was placed on the iconic, coin-shaped Aldar HQ building in Abu Dhabi. The epic sticker installation took nine non-stop days to print using material that would cover two and a half football pitches, followed by 420 combined hours of manpower to install on the surface of the building.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens is the seventh instalment in the franchise and has smashed box office records to become the third biggest movie of all time. It is the fastest film to reach the $1 billion mark at the global box office, doing so in just 12 days, and has set all-time opening weekend records in multiple territories including the UK, Germany, Australia and Russia.

CEO of twofour54, Noura Al Kaabi, said: “twofour54 is immensely proud of its role in contributing to the success of Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Abu Dhabi is steadily becoming a location of choice for producers from around the world and managing production services on the third biggest movie of all time certainly adds to our growing reputation.

“We appreciate the support of Aldar Properties in partnering with us and providing the iconic HQ building as the perfect platform to celebrate Abu Dhabi’s association with the film. We congratulate Disney and LucasFilm on achieving both cinematic and commercial success with the film,” she added.

Commenting, Mohammad Al Mubarak, CEO, Aldar Properties PJSC, said: “Abu Dhabi continues to demonstrate its rapid emergence as a global destination and such high profile movies demonstrate the opportunity for more diverse industries and projects to thrive within the Emirate. As a company that is proud to be playing a major role in shaping the urban landscape of Abu Dhabi, we are delighted to have been able to support twofour54 on such an initiative.”

With assistance from twofour54 and the Abu Dhabi Film Commission, filming for Star Wars: The Force Awakens took place in Abu Dhabi during May 2014 with over 650 crew working across two locations. Abu Dhabi hosted the Middle Eastern premiere of Star Wars: The Force Awakens on 16 December 2015 and the film was released in UAE cinemas the following day. It is currently the third highest-grossing film of all time banking an estimated $1.9 billion worldwide.