Surprisingly, The Force Awakens couldn’t top Jurassic World for the best global opening weekend, as that still holds the record with US$524.9 million (S$741 million).
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The previous box office record of $43.5 million in early ticket sales was set back in July of 2011 with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2, reported the LA Times.
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By Saturday, “The Force Awakens” broke the domestic record for opening day, grossing $120.5 million Friday, according to studio estimates, which count the Thursday-evening showings as part of a “single” day.
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“Force Awakens” became the biggest domestic opening in North America, as well as the biggest December opening both in North America and globally. As a result, The Force Awakens is the first movie to ever earn more than $100 million in a single day, which also makes it the fastest movie to ever reach triple digits.
Jurassic World had the advantage of opening in China on the same weekend it opened everywhere else, whereas The Force Awakens won’t debut in the world’s second biggest cinema-going territory until 9 January.
The JJ Abrams-directed seventh instalment in the franchise George Lucas created and launched in 1977 took $27.2 million in Australian cinemas between its first screening to a paying audience at midnight Wednesday to the last sessions beginning before midnight on Sunday. Audiences awarded an “A” grade in polling by survey firm CinemaScore.
“The potential for The Force Awakens to ultimately break into the $2 billion club worldwide is certainly in the realm of possibility”, Dergarabedian said.
Other wide releases also premiering over the weekend included Fox’s “Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip” and Universal’s “Sisters”.
A few, fearless films debuted against the “Star Wars” juggernaut.
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Overall, the movie pulled in a whopping $517 million worldwide. The release of the first Star Wars movie under the Disney banner has alleviated those doubts. Star Wars: The Force Awakens could snatch the record from Avatar, according to movie industry analysts.
