$247 million – The film’s opening weekend box office in North America, which overtook the $208.8 million record of “Jurassic World”.
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Filmgoers revelled in the return to the Star Wars galaxy, dressing as Jedi or Sith, carrying lightsabers and cheering when classic characters such as Princess Leia or Chewbacca appeared on screen.
“When you cue up all the footage and things that were shown, it’s really not a lot of the film, and I think that’s what makes it incredibly special”.
That includes a chart-topping $57 million from fans who rushed out to see the first showings on Thursday night.
522 – Days until the release of “Star Wars: Episode VIII”, the next chapter in the “Star Wars” saga.
Yesterday’s £8.6 million ($12.8 million) takings were the biggest Saturday figure of all time in the United Kingdom and Ireland, beating the two current leading three-day openers, “Skyfall” and “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows 2” at this stage in release.
Disney took steps to attract more women and girls to the series, including casting Ridley as the star and running commercials during shows such as Keeping Up With The Kardashians.
Men made up the bulk of ticket buyers, comprising 58% of the opening weekend audience, and despite the franchise having been bought out by the kid-orientated Disney, adults represented 71% of the crowd with families only accounting for 20% of consumers.
The Disney movie sold out across the USA and was a big draw around the world.
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Globally, the latest Star Wars space epic raked in an estimated US$517 million (NZ$768m), falling in second behind Jurassic World, which earned US$524.9 million worldwide in its first weekend, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Judging from the positive fan reviews and the fact that movie has yet to open in many large, lucrative markets like China , the chances are pretty high! Frank Oz, who voiced Yoda in the original Star Wars movies recorded new audio for the scene.
