The Force Awakens chases Avatar’s box-office record

“Quality prevails”, said Chris Aronson, Fox’s domestic distribution chief.

For your convenience, click on the drop box above to go straight to information you’re looking for! The franchise’s three prequel films released from 1999 to 2005 were shown in China, but at a time when there were much fewer screens in the country.

In the cinema, the first note of the iconic opening theme coupled with the retro rolling text sends shivers down the spine and, happily, I do not think I caught my breath again until the closing credits. It put “Game of Thrones” star Natalie Dormer in a forest at the base of Mount Fuji renowned for suicides. “Hopefully that will help it leg out better than the genre normally does”, he said. Where available, the latest global numbers for Friday through Sunday are also included.

While there are several Rey action figures (which seems to constantly sell out, as the character’s popularity has soared with he movie’s release), Rey was left out of a collection of large figures made available at Target, which included Finn, Poe, Chewbacca, Kylo Ren, a Stormtrooper and a TIE Fighter Pilot.

Disney has marketed the Force Awakens aggressively in China, where the Star Wars franchise doesn’t have the same legacy as in North America or Europe. It earned $13.1 million in 2,451 theaters, which was a little more than expected, but it only earned a C on Cinemascore. The Forest, $US13.1 million ($US450,000) 5. The Amy Poehler and Tina Fey comedy about a pair of siblings suffering from arrested development has racked up a respectable $73.9 million since opening last month.

With another $41.6 million, ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ climbed up to a domestic total of $812 million.

Imax shares hopped 3.4%.

Combined with its grosses from the two weeks it spent in limited release, “The Revenant” has now made $39.5 million.

Next weekend should see the end of Star Wars’ reign at the top as Ice Cube and Kevin Hart invade with Ride Along 2.

The Hateful Eight fell hard in its second weekend after expanding its theater count. If the estimates hold, it’ll be the fifth highest opening weekend in January, slipping right in between 2015’s Taken 3 ($39M) and 2014’s Lone Survivor ($37.8M).

The only other global title now at the China box office is Sherlock: The Abominable Bride. “The Peanuts Movie”, $8.6 million. 10. “Alvin and The Chipmunks: The Road Chip”, $5.8 million. 14.

Will Smith’s Concussion was down two spots to #10 in its third week with $3.1 million.