Worldwide, the movie is expected to take in just over $517m (£346m) in ticket sales, putting it in second place behind Jurassic World, which took $525m (£351m) this summer.
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Given the lack of direct competition in the weeks ahead – most films cleared out of the way of Star Wars once its release date was announced – The Force Awakens has a clear run at a $2bn box office take, it seems. Midnight screenings on Thursday morning accounted for £2.4m of ticket sales.
That exceeded the previous best of £9.48m set by Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 in 2011. On Saturday alone, the film took £8.6m, the biggest business done on a Saturday for a movie ever in the UK.
The gross helps to boost The Force Awakens’ global grab to Dollars 517 million after setting new opening weekend records in the UK, Germany, Australia and Russian Federation, among 14 other countries.
China could hold the key to The Force Awakens’ success.
Analysts say the space saga could become the biggest-selling movie of all time, even if it does fail to top Jurassic World’s global opening figures.
Opening weekend record aside, industry pundits are still unsure how the film will perform in terms of final sales, according to Pamela McClintock of the Hollywood Reporter.
The film is set 30 years after the “Return of the Jedi” and stars familiar characters like Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia and Han Solo.
The film also stars Oscar Isaac, Adam Driver, Lupita Nyong’o and Domhnall Gleeson, along with original trilogy stars Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher.
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“Our sole focus has been creating a film that delivers that one-of-a-kind Star Wars experience, and director JJ Abrams, Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy, and the Lucasfilm team have outdone themselves”, Walt Disney Studios chairman Alan Horn said in a statement.
