Through Friday, worldwide ticket sales had reached $129.5 million, as the movie set opening-day records in Britain, Germany, Australia, Brazil and other countries.
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Disney also boosted its Friday estimate from at least $100 million in the early afternoon to $120 million by the late afternoon – smashing the opening day record of $91 million for 2011’s “Harry Potter and Deathly Hallows: Part 2”. Soon to begin was a screening of the film for families who have lost a relative to combat or service-related injuries.
At the White House, R2-D2 and two Stormtroopers surprised reporters with a quick appearance in the briefing room.
It remains to be seen whether the Force Awakens can outgun Spectre, the latest James Bond film, which took £41.3m in its first seven days at the United Kingdom box office.
The new Star Wars film is the first in a decade and the seventh instalment in the series created by George Lucas.
But The Force awakens introduces new characters and fresh faces as Disney prepares for a string of new Star Wars films and spin-offs.
Mark Zoradi, CEO of Cinemark, says: “Moviegoers have been looking forward to Star Wars: The Force Awakens for months, and Cinemark is thrilled to bring this incredible experience to our guests this weekend”.
Walt Disney Co., which produced the film, is projecting that it will gross an estimated $220 million this weekend. The record is held by Avatar with $US2.8 billion. The movie lived up to the prodigious hype and acclaim from the perspective of the fan and from the critics alike and by the time you’re reading this, many have already seen the movie multiple times.
The movie, directed by J.J. Abrams, scored a 95 percent positive rating on review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango says that the J.J. Abrams film has broken the company’s record for the most tickets sold by any title during its entire theatrical run; an anomaly considering that this feat was accomplished during pre-sales.
Audience polling firm CinemaScore gave the new release an A grade, including an A-plus among women and younger audiences.
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69% of Americans have, however, watched a Star Wars film.
