“Force Awakens” will have to more than double that advance total, though, to break the opening-weekend record of $208.8-million set by “Jurassic World” just this past – yes – summer.
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“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2”, previously held both records at US$43.5 million for an opening night and US$91 million for a first day.
And if the sales aren’t impressive enough, The Force Awakens is already winning over the hearts of critics all over, earning a 95 percent fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, 94 percent of which were positive-another record-breaker. The film’s star stormtrooper John Boyega, who plays Finn in the latest edition to the movie franchise greeted fans at five locations, running through the crowd for high-fives and thanking fans for going to the film’s opening night.
The film, which made $14.1 million internationally on Thursday, will be in 4,134 locations by Friday, a record for a December opening.
So Saturday is crucial since tickets will be available for The Force Awakens.
Thanks to the massive debut of The Force Awakens the overall box office for all movies this weekend also broke a record, bringing in over $300 million for the first time in history. “With the increased demand for ‘Star Wars, ‘ we will continue to add showtimes to accommodate the avid fans that have been eagerly awaiting the seventh film in this blockbuster series”.
Disney expects Friday’s U.S. and Canada ticket sales to top $100m (£67m), and thinks another $100m will be taken this weekend.
A lot is riding on the film for Disney, which paid $4.06 billion for Lucasfilm in 2012. My appreciation for the franchise has grown exponentially over the past year. Whether “The Force Awakens” can come close to the global hauls of those films ($2.8 billion for “Avatar” and $2.2 billion for “Titanic”) won’t be clear for weeks.
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It’s like there’s a party on Hoth and only your mouth is invited with “The Force Awakens” ice cream cakes!
