You have to believe that any motion picture that opened at the same time as “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” is committing something akin to box office suicide.
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Star Wars: The Force Awakens has triumphed with the country’s biggest opening weekend in history, according to Disney Canada. “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” took in an estimated $57 million in Thursday evening ticket sales in North America, Disney Co., breaking a four-year-old record.
However, unlike Jurassic World, The Force Awakens was not released in China on its opening weekend and won’t be screened there until January 9.
NEW YORK (AP) – “Star Wars” fever has spread through movie theaters around the globe, even reaching the White House, as the franchise yet again began toppling box-office records with waves of lightsaber-wielding fans.
“Star Wars: The Force Awakens” box office collections: “Force Awakens” is the seventh installment in the epic science-fiction franchise created by George Lucas in 1977.
The revelation comes as Disney said the film took $250m (£167.8m) worldwide on Thursday and Friday and was on track to set a new U.S. opening weekend record.
That “Star Wars” was poised to shatter box office records was evident from the lines of moviegoers that formed in October when tickets went on advance sale.
“Abrams’ film is also smashing records overseas, where it has amassed a stunning $72.7 million in its first two days for a global tally of almost $130 million”. “It’s just a matter of HOW big this weekend number will get”. For instance, 47% of the film’s gross receipts this weekend came from 3D screenings, a fact which undoubtedly helped bolster overall ticket sales as 3D showings typically cost a few bucks more than regular screenings.
Analyst Alexia Quadrani thinks Disney may be able to recoup the roughly US$4 billion it paid for Star Wars creator Lucasfilm by 2018.
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The Force Awakens picks up the intergalactic story of good versus evil 30 years on from The Return of the Jedi, the last episode of the original trilogy.
