Moviegoers cheer and wave lightsabers before the first showing of the movie "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood on December 17. That surpassed the previous opening-day record of $US43.5 million for the final Harry Potter movie in 2011.
New studio estimates and Rentrak further estimate that the J.J. Abrams-directed Force Awakens will destroy the weekend box office record with at least a $225 million weekend total.
Disney, which bought the rights to the "Star Wars" franchise from its creator George Lucas for $4 billion in 2012, has built up the hype around "The Force Awakens", rolling out a well-orchestrated marketing campaign that has left fans wanting more.
In a time where Marvel's latest movie seems to always be the one smashing records, Star Wars: The Force Awakens is literally doubling what we've been seeing from Marvel in terms of box office and ticket sales.
That would set the all-time opening weekend record, besting the $208.8 million haul of "Jurassic World" earlier this year. The Force Awakens's opening weekend is only the first test to see whether the film will satisfy Disney investors and film buffs alike.
3-D screening accounted for 47% of the night's grosses on Thursday. The top five was rounded out by The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 with $5.7 million and Creed with $5.1 million.
After the president's press conference, Josh Earnest made an unannounced appearance in the briefing room alongside a pair of "Star Wars" Stormtroopers and R2-D2, according to a White House pool report. He said it is the best in the franchise since "The Empire Strikes Back". It is Fandango's top-selling movie of all time, even before it has even hit theater screens.
It features newcomers Daisy Ridley and John Boyega alongside original stars Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher, and has been showered with good reviews.
Presales were huge for The Force Awakens, but most of those tickets were reportedly sold for Thursday, Friday, and Christmas Day, so the rest of the weekend is essentially open territory.
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