Star Wars force holds USA box office

Disney said the seventh installment of the “Star Wars” saga made an estimated US$145.9 million over the weekend, including US$53 million in China.

Disney said the China numbers put the film’s global total over $US1.73 billion ($2.49 billion), behind only “Avatar” ($US2.79 billion) and “Titanic” ($US2.19 billion). Jurassic World (US$1.67 billion) had previously been No. 3.

Over the week The Force Awakens cruised past Avatar to be the highest ever grossing domestic movie and this weekend it cleared another landmark: first movie to ever break $800 million.

Success in China, the world’s second-largest movie market, is becoming increasingly crucial for Hollywood studios as analysts predict ticket sales in the country will overtake those of the U.S.as soon as next year.

There have been many noticing that Daisy Ridley’s Rey, despite being the main character in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, is oddly missing in certain aspects of the merchandising – and J.J. Abrams shares their frustrations.

“Star Wars” earned $42.4 million between Friday and Sunday to push its four-week gross to a staggering $812.7 million, according to Rentrak.

The force was strong with Leonardo DiCaprio, but not quite strong enough to dethrone “Star Wars” from its perch atop box office charts. The movie is still showing in theaters in North America as well, and still earning top dollar in just about every market it’s being shown in.

While the $41.6 million weekend for “Star Wars” was great, DiCaprio and his bear came snapping at its heels with a $38 million nationwide expansion for ‘The Revenant’.

Debuting in fourth was the horror film The Forest which made $13.1M, according to estimates, from 2,451 theaters for a per screen average of $5,340.

The Force Awakens secured that first place spot with $41.6 million, but The Revenant wasn’t far behind.

Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg’s Daddy’s Home continued it’s impressive run with an estimated $15M in its third weekend, a drop of 48% from last weekend’s holiday infused grosses. “Sisters”, $7.2 million ($3.4 million international). 6.

Concussion rounded out the top 10 with $3 million for the weekend and a diminutive $30 million total.