‘Force Awakens’ rockets ‘Star Wars’ to box office record

Star Wars: The Force Awakens is on course to smash the record for the biggest box office debut weekend in North America, Disney has said. The blockbuster broke records for biggest box office draw on an opening weekend in both the USA and globally. Anything is possible but the next pin to knock down is Jurassic World’s $208 opening weekend record – a figure that Star Wars was nearly halfway towards thanks to advanced tickets. Star Wars has smashed that to bits, with a take of $238m in just one weekend.

The Force Awakens began rolling out in global markets last Wednesday.

Star Wars has also had the biggest opening day and Saturday receipts in Ireland and the United Kingdom box office history. All told, Disney execs are having an extremely joyous holiday season.

“The potential for The Force Awakens to ultimately break into the $2bn club worldwide is certainly in the realm of possibility”, he said.

The Walt Disney Co., which also owns production company Lucasfilm and ABC News, announced Sunday that the film obliterated the all-time domestic debut record by raking in an estimated $238 million in ticket sales.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens sets new box office record. Midnight screenings on Thursday morning accounted for £2.4m of ticket sales. The decision to delay the China opening was made by the country’s government, which reviews and dates of every foreign film with an eye toward protecting its homegrown film industry.

The movie is opening three years after Disney paid $4.06 billion for Lucasfilm.

This photo provided by Disney/Lucasfilm shows Daisy Ridley, right, as Rey, and BB-8, in a scene from the film, “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”, directed by J.J. Abrams.

That number blasted the opening day record in the USA, held by “Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 2”, which made $91.7 million on its opening day in 2011.

That includes a chart-topping $57 million from fans who rushed out to see the first showings on Thursday night.