Star Wars: The Force Awakens shatters North American box office records

The most important weekend of the year has finally arrived and by now you’re either serenely standing amid throngs of feverish fans awaiting baptism in the halcyon glow of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, or forcefully cutting to the front of the queue by administering an occasional elbow to the Adam’s Apple to position yourself prominently, all in the name of fine art and universal box office domination of course. For the newest installment of the blockbuster Star Wars franchise, however, the official first-day total Friday was also noteworthy, rising upwards of $120.5 million.

The huge figure makes it the highest-grossing movie debut in the US and Canada since box office records began, not accounting for inflation, while it also sets a new record for a December opening, more than doubling the $84.6 million (£56.4 million) made by The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey in 2012. This is the second highest global debut of all-time behind only “Jurassic World”, which made $525 million globally in June.

“We have so many options for entertainment, yet look at where everyone is flocking this weekend – to the multiplex”, said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at box office tracking firm Rentrak.

The production of Disney and Lucasfilm was 14 percent ahead of the previous opening weekend record of 208.8 million dollars of domestic income for “Jurassic World” this summer. The Force Awakens had already broken single-day records with $57 million.

A number of records were also set for advance ticket sales that led to the biggest opening ever for Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

“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.

The Disney (DIS) film opened in 4,134 theaters.

Audiences gave the new release an A grade, and an A-plus among women and younger audiences, according to polling firm CinemaScore. The movie reportedly raked in more than $100 million in pre-sales before its early Thursday night opening, and when the final theatrical trailer was played during Monday night football on ESPN, it was subsequently viewed more than 128 million times over a 24-hour period.

In addition to topping the box office, “The Force Awakens” also received highly positive reviews. The film also features Mark Hamill, John Boyega and Daisy Ridley. It is the seventh in the “Star Wars” saga, and the first film starring beloved characters like Harrison Ford’s Han Solo and Carrie Fisher’s Princess Leia since 1983’s “Return of the Jedi”.

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.