Star Wars Episode 7 Has Record-Breaking Weekend With $517 Million Worldwide

Star Wars: The Force Awakens made £38m on Thursday night.

Jurassic World had the advantage of opening in China on the same weekend it opened everywhere else, whereas The Force Awakens won’t debut in the world’s second biggest cinema-going territory until 9 January.

It smashed the biggest Friday and biggest single-day record in North America, exceeding the 91 million USA dollars of “Deathly Hallows 2” by 29.5 million.

The film has taken $238 million in the USA and $279 million internationally bringing the weekend global box-office takings to $517 million worldwide. Disney bought Lucasfilm for US$4 billion in 2012 and spent more than US$200 million to produce The Force Awakens.

Box office record ” Star Wars: The Force Awakens” has set a box office record with an estimated $57 million from Thursday night shows.

The updated estimate from Disney places the seventh Star Wars movie about $6 million ahead of current record holder, Universal’s “Jurassic World”, which opened at $208.4 million earlier this year on the June 12-14 weekend. The Force Awakens’s opening weekend is only the first test to see whether the film will satisfy Disney investors and film buffs alike. Star Wars: The Force Awakens could snatch the record from Avatar, according to movie industry analysts.

The movie’s impressive opening also shattered the opening weekend record for movies released in December, when audiences are more focused on holiday shopping and travel.

The sci-fi adventure film starring Daisy Ridley, John Boyega and Harrison Ford has been a intergalactic hit with both fans and critics.

Speaking at the European premiere of Star Wars: The Force Awakens in London’s Leicester Square this week, he said: “I’m glad people are interested”.

“Sisters”, starring Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, pulled in $5 million on Friday from 2,962 locations, while “Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip” netted $4 million in 3,653 locations.