New ‘Star Wars’ movie has record $57M opening night

The San Bernardino attack that left 14 people dead represented a type of extremist plot law enforcement authorities consider exceedingly hard to detect: a conspiracy between close family members.

Cue the Imperial March, because the new “Star Wars” is power-stepping its way into the record books with dramatic precision.

The Force Awakens is on its way for an opening weekend of at least $200 million in the USA, early estimates showed Friday.

Such an outcome would surprise few analysts, but the numbers were nevertheless eye-popping.

Two of the other “major” films bowing this weekend – Universal’s “Sisters” with Tina Fey and Amy Poehler (opening in 2,962 locations) and Fox’s “Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip” (opening in 3,653 locations) – netted $5 million and $4 million respectively on Friday.

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

Most directors would jump at the chance of directing a Star Wars movie, but JJ Abrams said “no” when he was offered the film the first time because he did not want to be seen as “the guy who does sequels”.

“The Force Awakens” awesome performance has been apparent since the opening night, earning a record-setting of $57 million just hours after it opened on Thursday night. Subscribers to Disney’s sports powerhouse, ESPN, have shrunk, a much-noted sign of pressure on traditional media.

Nomura Securities analyst Anthony DiClemente, who rates Disney a “buy”, said he was more confident after seeing the movie that it could become the top-grossing film of all time. Alongside the usual film tie-ins, one chain of sports clubs is offering Awaken Your Force Workouts.

It collected $US120.5 million on Friday, its first full day in domestic cinemas, the highest single-day ticket sales ever.

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

Strong reviews for the film, which is set 30 years after “Return of the Jedi”, have added to the fervour for “The Force Awakens”. Whether “The Force Awakens” can come close to the global hauls of those films ($2.8 billion for “Avatar” and $2.2 billion for “Titanic”) won’t be clear for weeks. “Force Awakens” toys, clothing, home accessories and video games already pervade stores ahead of Christmas.