That number obliterates the USA opening day record of $91 million for 2011’s “Harry Potter and Deathly Hallows: Part 2”.
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Over the course of the day it quickly clocked up a huge £9.6m, therefore setting a new record for a film’s first day at the box office.
That would set a record and beat the current opening weekend title holder, “Jurassic World”, which premiered earlier this year to $208.8 million at the box office.
In a turn of events that will shock precisely nobody, a fantasy adventure space film called Star Wars: The Force Awakens is making insane amounts of money.
But movie studio Walt Disney Co says millions of tickets are still available to see the film – which unites the cast from the original trilogy with newcomers – as theaters add capacity to meet demand.
Early estimates from the company also indicated that it had raked in $130 million worldwide since the film first hit some theaters on Wednesday internationally. The strong reviews and a decades-long affection for the Star Wars franchise are driving interest, said Mr Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at box office tracking firm Rentrak.
The latest Star Wars film may very well be the most anticipated film in the galaxy, and yet, for Disney, the stakes remain high.
The film, which carries a production cost of at least $200 million, opened in 32 additional foreign markets Thursday will open in most other markets Friday.
The Death Star-sized Thursday night in the US should also help to boost the film’s outlook for a record breaking opening weekend as well.
3D amounted to about 47 percent of the night’s grosses, and IMAX made $5.7 million from 391 screens, which nearly doubled the previous record of $3 million, held by “Avengers: Age of Ultron”.
To get you in the super Star Wars mood (as if you weren’t already), have a look at the film’s terrific trailer for the gazillionth time…
“Clearly, this is not the most important thing that’s taking place in the White House today”, he joked.
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That honor went to a special screening of “The Force Awakens” for Gold Star families who have lost relatives to combat- or service-related injuries.
