Grossing an estimated $120.5 million (111 million euros) following Thursday previews and its opening day on Friday, the sci-fi epic easily surpassed the previous top-grossing film, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2”, which earned $91.1 million on its opening day in 2011.
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The film is predicted to move light-years past the “Jurassic World” opening weekend record of more than $208 million, possibly surpassing 0 million, according to experts.
“The Force Awakens” collected a galactic $250 million of global ticket sales through Friday and headed toward a historic opening weekend in the United States and Canada as fans around the world reveled in the return of the beloved space saga.
The movie also stars Oscar Isaac, Adam Driver, Lupita Nyong’o and Domhnall Gleeson.
“There are literally millions of tickets available for this weekend, and exhibitors have a lot of flexibility in terms of capacity and increasing the number of shows based on demand”, Dave Hollis, Disney’s head of distribution, said in the statement.
But The Force awakens introduces new characters and fresh faces as Disney prepares for a string of new Star Wars films and spin-offs.
“We will continue to add showtimes to accommodate the avid fans that have been eagerly awaiting the seventh film in this blockbuster series”, Amy Miles, chief executive officer of Regal Entertainment Group, the largest USA exhibitor, said in the statement. Through Friday, global ticket sales had reached $129.5 million, as the movie set opening-day records in Britain, Germany, Australia, Brazil and other countries. The latest “Star Wars” is playing in 4,134 North American theatres, the widest December release ever.
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“Force Awakens” has already smashed several film industry records and won praise from critics and moviegoers. Soon to begin was a screening of the film for families who have lost a relative to combat or service-related injuries. That would make it the second-highest grossing picture of all time, trailing only 2009’s “Avatar”, which took in $2.8 billion worldwide.
