Star Wars film breaks opening night box office record

“Star Wars: The Force Awakens” reaped a record-breaking $57 million in US and Canadian ticket sales on its opening night, propelled by critical praise and the fervor of fans eager to see the celebrated film franchise’s first installment in a decade.

The latest film in the “Star Wars” franchise stars veterans Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, along with newcomers Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong’o, Andy Serkis and Domhnall Gleeson.

As excited fans gathered at theaters around the country last night, investors and film analysts watched ticket sales to see whether The Force Awakens would beat box office expectations.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens continues to burn through the box office record book as it heads towards an opening day Friday over $100 million, according to studio estimates.

The Force Awakens, which has been cloaked in secrecy, is the first Star Wars film in 10 years.

Next up: “Jurassic World’s” global opening weekend record of $316.1 million.

Box office analysts expect it to make around $200m (£134m) over its opening weekend, a total that could challenge the record Jurassic World set earlier this year.

The marketing campaign has triggered plenty of pent-up excitement for the return of Luke Skywalker, Chewbacca and Han Solo, plus the new characters and story line.

The Death Star-sized Thursday night in the USA should also help to boost the film’s outlook for a record breaking opening weekend as well.

J.J. Abrams’ seventh chapter in George Lucas’s space saga arrived with the kind of hoopla and anticipation that few films have ever matched.

Star Wars Battlefront players also recently received the Battle of Jakku DLC for free, which ties in with the events that prelude The Force Awakens. Fey and Poehler portray siblings throwing a blow-out bash in their childhood home with a production cost of $30 million.