‘Star Wars’ movie’s global sales reach massive $250 mln

“The Force Awakens” brought in a record $120 million-plus in its first day at the North American box office, so its worldwide or global total is roughly $250 million. Thousands gathered for a friendly light saber battle in downtown Los Angeles on Friday, and moviegoers in cities such as Berlin and Paris arrived at screenings wearing Stormtrooper costumes, Jedi robes and Darth Vader masks.

The seventh instalment of the Star Wars cinematic series is projected to record a US$250 million global four-day opening weekend, with $220 million coming from the American and Canadian markets.

That includes a chart-topping $US57 million from fans who flocked to see the first showings on Thursday night. The record holder for the biggest opening during the month is “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey”, which took in $85 million in domestic receipts in 2012.

The Force Awakens, which cost around £130m (€177.63m) to make, looks set to break further records and could be a contender for the top-grossing film of all time – a title now held by the 2009 blockbuster Avatar.

And while many analysts expected the film to collect $1.5 billion to $2 billion globally, “The Force Awakens” is now predicted to gross $2.6 billion worldwide.

The new “Star Wars” film is the first installment in a decade of the series, which was created by George Lucas in 1977.

The movie is now open in all markets except Greece and India, where it starts playing December 24, and China, which has set a January 9 debut.

Star Wars does not share the same universal popularity as other films in certain key markets around the world, such as China. They will join the original stars of the saga, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, and Kenny Baker.

It’s so far been praised by critics and has received rave reviews on popular movie-rating site IMDB and Rotten Tomatoes.

Audience polling firm CinemaScore gave the new release an A grade, including an A-plus among women and younger audiences.