Amy Miles, CEO at Regal Entertainment Group said: “This holiday season we are excited to be a part of the highly anticipated release of ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens.’ At Regal, we are passionate about providing exceptional moviegoing experiences including offering a wide variety of showtimes to meet our guests needs”. The current record for a launch weekend was set in June by “Jurassic World” with $208.4 million.
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THE long-awaited Star Wars: The Force Awakens pulled in a record $US57 million ($AU80 million) at USA and Canadian theatres on its debut on this week, boosting its global ticket sales total to almost $US130 million ($180 million) in two days, Walt Disney Co. says.
It also has a shot of setting the USA record for biggest opening weekend ever.
This handily breaks the previous record set by Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2, which had held since 2011 at $43.5 million.
Forty-seven per cent of the opening day’s USA domestic ticket sales came from 3D tickets, Disney said.
Keep in mind, too, the money Disney makes on “Star Wars” goes well beyond what it gets at the box office.
The film is playing at a total of 4,134 North American locations. That is until the spinoff movies start rolling in and America rediscovers their love for Lobot and Lando in, Star Wars: Among The Clouds.
Strong reviews for the film, which is set 30 years after “Return of the Jedi”, have added to the fervor for “The Force Awakens“. Disney, which paid more than $4 billion for Lucasfilm in 2009, had been downplaying expectations, but rival studios and industry analysts believe that “The Force Awakens” will open to $210 million or more.
The Force Awakens is also proving to be huge at the worldwide box office.
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The latest film in the “Star Wars” franchise stars veterans Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, along with newcomers Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong’o, Andy Serkis and Domhnall Gleeson.
