In North America, the film sold a record $100 million worth of presale tickets before Thursday previews began at approximately 7 p.m. EST.
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Over the past few days, the talk of the planet has been about Star Wars: The Force Awakens – and there are now box office numbers that truly prove just that.
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The latest installment of the highly anticipated space epic raked in $57 million for its opening night Thursday, easily beating the previous record – $43.5 million – held by “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2” in 2011.
“Star Wars: The Force Awakens” hurtled toward $125 million in USA and Canadian ticket sales on Friday and a potential record-breaking $225 million through Sunday, giving the long-awaited movie a shot at the biggest opening weekend of all time. J.J. Abrams’ seventh chapter in George Lucas’ saga has earned an A CinemaScore from moviegoers who have flooded theaters nationwide.
Disney is projecting a domestic weekend total of around $220 million, which would surpass the record $208.8 million of “Jurassic World”. Disney said theaters were adding showtimes to meet “unprecedented demand”. Rival studios had forecasted prior to the opening that “The Force Awakens” would open with at least $210 million.
Imax and 3-D screenings are helping to propel the record gross. Disney said that 47 percent of the Thursday box office came from 3-D showings and $5.7 million from Imax screens.
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A lot is riding on the film for Disney, which paid $4.06 billion for Lucasfilm in 2012. Critics have hailed it as a fan-friendly return to form for the franchise; the American Film Institute listed it among its top 10 films of the year. “Force Awakens” toys, clothing, home accessories and video games already pervade stores ahead of Christmas. First lady Michelle Obama hosted a screening for children of families that lost members to war. The current record holder is “Avatar”, which generated $2.8 billion worldwide after its December 2009 release.
