U.S. Press Secretary Josh Earnest speaks to the press in the briefing room at the White House in Washington, DC, on December 18, 2015 with Star Wars characters R2D2 and Storm Troopers.
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The movie could become the highest-grossing movie of all time, box office analysts said.
The £9.64m tally beat the previous best of £9.48m set by Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2. That record have previously been set earlier in the year by Jurassic World, which gathered in $208.8m.
Since beginning its overseas rollout Wednesday, “The Force Awakens” has made an estimated $129.5 million internationally.
It also had the biggest Thursday preview gross, at $57 million, and it turned in the fastest climbs ever to the $100 million and $200 million benchmarks, Dergarabedian said.
“We are obviously very encouraged by both the record-breaking pre-sales as well as the opening day box office for the movie in Ireland”, she said.
It also introduces new heroes Rey and Finn to lead a younger generation of new Star Wars fans.
Surprisingly this did not help Disney’s share price in the USA, with its shares down 4 per cent on Friday, as the overall market suffered declines.
The film has broken global cinema records, likely to have sold close to $US250 million worth of tickets worldwide so far.
The Force Awakens has already smashed several film industry records.
The Force Awakens has to settle for 2nd in the global sales stakes behind Jurassic World.
Sisters is fourth, globally, having taken US$15.2 million this weekend and Alvin And The Chipmunks: The Road Chip made US$13.4 million in fifth place.
Critics applauded Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which features newcomers Daisy Ridley, John Boyega and Oscar Isaac alongside original stars Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher.
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The long-awaited sequel is being screened in 4,134 theaters in the United States and Canada, according to Rentrak.
