Box Office Roundup: Leo and The Forest

Walt Disney Co said Star Wars: The Force Awakens generated US$53 million (S$76 million) at the box office during its opening weekend in China, adding to the success of a film that is chasing the global record set by Avatar about six years ago.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens opened today in China, with an estimated $32.1 million, according to ChinaBoxOffice.

The China figures represent the highest Saturday or Sunday movie opening in the country in industry history, the Disney film studio said in a statement.

“Jurassic World” had previously been number three, with US$1.67 billion in total box office receipts, but it fell to the Star Wars onslaught.

“The Revenant”, another successful movie in the box office, earned around $38 million over the weekend during its debut. Earlier this week, it passed 2009’s “Avatar” to become the highest-grossing film in North American history.

The achievement saw the soft-rebooted take on the Star Wars saga knock previous victor, Same Mendes’ triumphant first Bond film Skyfall, off the top spot. 13 Hours should open around $25 million, decent numbers but not enough to beat The Force Awakens -which should get a boost from the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend- or possibly even The Revenant. Alejandro G. Inarritu’s “The Revenant” staring Leonardo DiCaprio overperforms.

It also took in $104 million internationally this weekend, bringing its global haul to more than $1.73 billion.

Other top opening-day grosses in China include Avengers: Age of Ultron ($29.2 million), Transformers: Age of Extinction ($27.4 million) and Terminator: Genisys ($26.7 million). The franchise’s three prequel films released from 1999 to 2005 were shown in China, but at a time when there were much fewer screens in the country.

Disney has marketed the Force Awakens aggressively in China, where the Star Wars franchise doesn’t have the same legacy as in North America or Europe.

It has become the first to make more than $800m (£550m), having taken $812m (£558m) so far. The movie has proven to be Disney’s most successful picture to date.

Also continuing a strong run was the tag team of Tina Fey and Amy Poehler with Sisters taking in an estimated $7.2M this weekend, bringing its cume after four weekends to $75M. “Star Wars” was received particularly well on Imax, with gaining of $8.1 million.