Star Wars smashes United States box office record

Erik Melendez, who was there watching the movie, said the projector stopped during “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”.

Based on a conservative total box office estimate of US$750 million in North America and US$2.25 billion worldwide, J.P. Morgan believes the film should produce well over US$1 billion in profits.

That exceeded the previous best of £9.48m set by Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 in 2011. “I went back home [to New York], and I thought about it”, Isaac said.

“The Force Awakens” now holds the box office records for biggest Thursday night opening, biggest one day gross, biggest December debut, and biggest opening weekend of all time. The film earned an additional $279 million overseas, as reported by The Wall Street Journal, for the grand total of $518 million.

“I would argue the two-year marketing campaign for “Star Wars: the Force Awakens” was flawless in its execution”, said Disney distribution chief Dave Hollis.

Analysts say the space saga could become the biggest-selling movie of all time, even if it does fail to top Jurassic World’s global opening figures.

$57,568 – The film’s per theater average, the highest opening weekend for a wide release film.

The force will awaken in China, the world’s second-largest movie market, on January 9.

The film is set 30 years after the “Return of the Jedi” and stars familiar characters like Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia and Han Solo.

The J. J Abrams directed feature reunites the original Star Wars cast of Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, and Carrie Fisher, while also introducing a host of new faces, including Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Adam Driver, Lupita Nyong’o, Gwendoline Christie, and Irish actor Domhnall Gleeson.