China could hold the key to The Force Awakens’ success.
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On the back of positive reviews and a wave of hype, Star Wars: The Force Awakens netted $4.5 million on its opening weekend, smashing a record previously held by Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part II.
Still, that’s not the only record “The Force Awakens” has smashed.
“Star Trek: The Force Awakens” was predicted to clear $238 million in weekend domestic sales, passing the record set last summer by “Jurassic World”. Tune in on Sunday to see if Star Wars can boldly go where no blockbuster franchise has gone before, in an international-rollout-on-thousands-of-screens-and-did-it-hit-all-the-quadrants-way.
The J.J. Abrams-directed film took in an estimated $517 million at box offices around the world, second only to the worldwide opening weekend record also set earlier this year by “Jurassic World” at $525.5 million (around AU$721.7 million or £364.6 million).
The movie’s global rollout, which began Wednesday, has brought in a total of $72.7 million.
The performance so far of Force Awakens is a massive victory for Iger and Disney’s film studio.
Critics applauded The Force Awakens, which features newcomers Daisy Ridley, John Boyega and Oscar Isaac alongside original stars Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher. Playing in 4,134 theaters, “The Force Awakens” is the widest December release ever attempted.
3-D screening accounted for 47% of the night’s grosses on Thursday.
Disney Co. bought LucasFilm, which was 100 percent owned by Star Warsfranchise creator George Lucas, for $4 billion roughly three years ago.
However, the dinosaur franchise had the added benefit of a Chinese audience for its opening weekend figure – Star Wars won’t open there until January 9.
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This updated $120 – $125 million number includes a $57 million total for Thursday “preview” shows, which is also a record for Thursday previews.
