Disney said on Sunday that 47 percent of the gross for “The Force Awakens” came from 3-D screenings, for which tickets sell at a $3 to $5 premium.
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“Star Wars is about to smash the previous Harry Potter record, and will break the first week record of any film ever released in Australia”, he said.
The Force Awakens also set a new opening-day record of more than $9.4 million.
What’s particularly impressive is that the figure was achieved without the help of China, the world’s second biggest market for film. After all, how can a company that is known for its feel-good princess movies do justice to epic franchises like Indiana Jones and Star Wars?
The new Star Wars film is the first instalment in a decade of the series, which was created by George Lucas in 1977.
“Mind-blowing” and “earth-shattering” were the terms used by a normally sanguine Paul Dergarabedian, who tracks the media by numbers at Rentrak.
Worldwide, the film has so far posted a first weekend taking of 517 million USA dollars, with nearly half of that revenue coming from within the United States and Canada.
However the main reason why Star Wars failed to eclipse the summer blockbuster was that it failed to secure a release date in China until early January.
The latest film, which some analysts expect to gross more than $2 billion, stars Daisy Ridley, John Boyega and Oscar Isaac. Reviews turned out to be stellar (95 percent on Rotten Toma- toes), as were reactions of audiences, which gave the film an A on CinemaScore.
“The enthusiasm has really turned into a cultural event”, said Dave Hollis, Disney’s executive vice president of theatrical distribution.
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Like the throats of Darth Vader’s commanding officers, box office records have been crushed by Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Star Wars has smashed that to bits, with a take of $238m in just one weekend.
