Star Wars 7 Hits $1 Billion Faster Than Any Movie in History

Space thriller Star Wars: The Force Awakens hit the $1 billion mark globally at a faster rate than any film in history.

The Walt Disney Co. said “The Force Awakens” crossed the billion-dollar mark Sunday, accomplishing the feat in just 12 days.

“The Forces Awakens” is set 30 years after the defeat of the evil Galactic Empire in 1983’s “Star Wars: Return of the Jedi”.

Last weekend, the newest installment in the George Lucas-created franchise scored $238 million in domestic ticket sales during its opening weekend, shattering the record that was previously held by Jurassic World, which opened this summer at $208.8 million in ticket sales. Combine that with a $546-million take overseas, and “The Force Awakens” has already grossed $1.09-billion worldwide. The Force Awakens grabbed $1 billion quicker than any other movie, but I don’t see how it can grab another $1.7 billion. “The Force Awakens” doesn’t open in the world’s second-largest movie market until January 9.

Avatar and Titanic, however, both opened on the same December weekend as The Force Awakens, and both films greatly benefitted from three crucial factors: “I guess I’ll see what all the fuss is about” curiosity among people who rarely if ever go to the movies, an insatiable appetite among audiences to see the movies multiple times in the theater, and a dearth of major competition in the quiet early months of the year. “And you can’t do these kind of numbers without extraordinary repeat business”, said Disney distribution president Dave Hollis.

“Joy”, with Jennifer Lawrence, earned around $17.5 million and the re-imagining of “Point Break” a disappointment, only about 10 million in it’s first weekend.

After only 10 days, it is the fifth biggest film in USA box office history. The look at a stepfather’s attempts to outshine his wife’s stud of a first husband came in second with a healthy $38.8 million from 3,271 theaters. The picture opened with sales of $US10.2 million, compared with a forecast of $US9.5 million from BoxOffice.com.

Fourth is the comedy “Sisters”, which made $13.9 million in its second weekend. Fox’s “Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip” also showed some endurance, adding US$12.7 million to its US$39.4 million domestic gross.

Paramount’s “The Big Short” expanded from eight theaters to 1,585 locations on Wednesday, picking up $14.5 million for the five day period.