Star Wars blasts to new opening day record of $125 million

That number blasted the record for the biggest pre-opening in box office history held by Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 2, which made $43.5 million on its opening night in 2011.

“The Force Awakens” hauled in a record $238 million in US and Canadian ticket sales, beating the $208.8 brought in by Universal Studios’ “Jurassic Park” in June.

In addition, The Force Awakens also landed the biggest weekend opening in Australia, Russia, Germany, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Austria, Poland (3-day), Denmark (5-day), Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria, Croatia, Ukraine, Iceland, Serbia, New Zealand. “Force Awakens” – which reportedly cost at least $200 million to make – also has a shot at breaking the worldwide record for an opening weekend: “Jurassic World’s” $316-million.

Audiences awarded an A rating in polling by survey firm CinemaScore, Disney said.

Actor Harrison Ford (L) and director J.J. Abrams attend the after party for the World Premiere of “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” on Hollywood Blvd on December 14, 2015 in Hollywood, California.

That’s because “The Force Awakens”, based on the first wave of estimates, is trampling some records with the force of a Tauntaun – and is poised to overcome more.

Disney, which bought the rights to the Star Wars franchise from its creator Georges Lucas for US$4 billion in 2012, has built up the hype around The Force Awakens, rolling out a well-orchestrated marketing campaign that has left fans wanting more. CNBC notes that Avatar, the biggest grossing film of all time, took just $77m during its December release in the U.S. – and no film has previously bagged more than $100m in North America for its debut in that month.

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.

“We’re making sure there are numerous daily showtimes for “Star Wars” available at all of our locations across the country”, said Mark Zoradi, CEO of Cinemark Holdings Inc., one of the largest exhibitors.

Disney’s $4 billion purchase of Lucasfilm nearly looks like a bargain now.