A teaser trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
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NEW YORK (AP) – “Star Wars” fever spread through movie theaters around the globe on Friday, even reaching the White House, as the franchise yet again began toppling box-office records with waves of lightsaber-wielding fans. My appreciation for the franchise has grown exponentially over the past year. The Force Awakens also beat the record for Thursday night previews by taking in $57 million. Here was my experience going to my first ever “Star Wars” opening night.
The room erupted with a cacophony of reporters shouting additional questions, but Obama just smiled, said “Thank you”, and slipped out of the room to join the expected tens of millions of filmgoers watching the newly released sequel, Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
The ticket sales figures from Walt Disney Co. late Friday indicated that the film could eclipse the $US208.8 million record set by dinosaur adventure film Jurassic World in June.
Based on the early response, many analysts have the film pegged for a weekend total closer to $250 million – far above “Jurassic World”. J.J. Abrams’ seventh chapter in George Lucas’ saga has earned an A CinemaScore from moviegoers who have flooded theaters nationwide. Disney said movie theatres were continuing to add screenings to meet “unprecedented demand”.
Since beginning its overseas rollout Wednesday, “The Force Awakens” has made an estimated $129.5 million internationally.
Disney said 47 per cent of Thursday’s domestic ticket sales came from higher-priced 3D tickets.
A lot is riding on the film for Disney, which paid $4.06 billion for Lucasfilm in 2012. “The Force Awakens” is set 30 years after the events of 1983’s “Star Wars: Return of the Jedi“. The American Film Institute listed it among its top 10 films of the year.
The record is held by Avatar with $2.8 billion. First lady Michelle Obama hosted a screening for children of families that lost members to war.
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White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest appeared unannounced at the lectern of the briefing room with the Star Wars characters, including Darth Vader’s henchmen.
