Star Wars sets North America opening weekend record with US$238m

It seems like the entire world saw Star Wars: The Force Awakens this weekend, as the new film shattered the opening weekend box office record with an astounding $238 million in ticket sales.

The movie has opened in all markets except Greece and India, where it starts playing on Christmas Eve, and China, which has set a Jan 9 debut.

Disney purchased “Star Wars” producer Lucasfilm for $4 billion in 2012 and is betting that big-budget films can draw customers even as viewers gravitate to online streaming and mobile viewing and theater attendance declines.

Image copyright Reuters Image caption The Star Wars European premiere took place in London.

“Star Wars: The Force Awakens” had the biggest opening weekend for a movie ever.

As many expected, the hype surrounding Star Wars: The Force Awakens has broken box office records around the world for its opening weekend.

It goes without saying that the seventh episode in the “Star Wars” saga topped the weekend box office, but the question is was it enough to surpass “Jurassic World” as the biggest opening weekend of all time?

The Force Awakens 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.

That’s nearly $9 million than the previous record holder, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, which grossed $18.36 million in July 2011. Lauding the nostalgic throwbacks to the original series, audiences gave the new release an A grade, according to polling firm CinemaScore.

Globally, “The Force Awakens” has taken in $517 million, according to estimates made by its production company, Walt Disney Co.

Despite the huge opening, “Force Awakens” hasn’t made any money quite yet.

But this may just be the beginning of the film’s box office empire with movie choices in January and February pretty depleted at the cineplex.