John Boyega surprises unsuspecting Star Wars fans at screenings all over London

Giving an end of year press conference, President Barack Obama revealed he too was swept up by Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which has already set an opening night box office record in the United States and Canada. Those are big shoes to fill though, as The Force Awakens is shattering expectations and records in its opening weekend which sets the bar nearly higher than it was this time around or the next group to take on Episode 8.

“We have so many options for entertainment, yet look at where everyone is flocking this weekend – to the multiplex”, said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at box office tracking firm Rentrak.

Global sales for “Force Awakens” finished second only to the dinosaur film “Jurassic World”, which in its June opening garnered $525 million worldwide, including China, where the “Star Wars” film will not open for weeks. But that doesn’t include Disney’s other businesses, particularly since it has two Star Wars themed lands at its amusement parks.

The latest Star Wars film just broke the record for biggest opening weekend of all time. The Force Awakens is the seventh in the series created by George Lucas in 1977. The film made $238 million over the five day debut.

Peckham-born Boyega, 23, who plays ex-stormtrooper Finn alongside fellow Briton Daisy Ridley in the long-awaited film, told the audience at Brixton’s Ritzy cinema he was “so happy” to start work on the next instalment.

But this may just be the beginning of the film’s box office empire with movie choices in January and February pretty depleted at the cineplex.

If this footage is anything to go by, interrupting the showing of the new Star Wars movie is definitely not a good idea. He’s typically a smaller budget filmmaker, but will be tackling a much larger film with Star Wars.