Star Wars: The Force Awakens Rules The Galactic Box Office

LucasFilm

When they paid $4 billion dollars to take Lucasfilm off the hands of the man whose name it shares, Disney probably had some lofty expectations for their further Star Wars adventures. Not only did they pay a pretty penny for the company, they then went on a hiring spree to build a committee of Hollywood’s best and brightest to re-build and re-launch the Star Wars universe. From Kathleen Kennedy to J.J. Abrams to Rian Johnson and beyond, Disney was not shy about passing George Lucas’ baton on to some of the brightest minds, many of whom were longtime fans of Star Wars.

This weekend, with the opening of the first Disney-led film in the franchise, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, they found not only critical praise but box office success. Lots of box office success. According to a studio press release on Sunday, Star Wars: The Force Awakens will finish the weekend grossing $238 million in the United States, and totaling $517 million globally. To put this into perspective, the previous domestic box office record for a December opening weekend was $84.6 million (The Hobbit). The Force Awakens earned $120.5 million on Friday alone.

Here’s a rundown of all the records it blasted in its opening weekend:

• Biggest Thursday preview gross with $57M. 
• Biggest Friday and biggest single-day gross with $120.5M.
• First film ever to post a single day over $100M.
• Fastest film to $100M and $200M.
• Biggest December debut (nearly 3 times previous record of $84.6M).
• Biggest IMAX Thursday night preview ($5.7M), single-day ($14M, Friday), and weekend ($30.1M).
• Highest theater average for a wide release ($57,568).

Did they know that it would pay off quite so rapidly as this? It’s hard to imagine that anyone over there is surprised. A lot of hard work, clever marketing and a few years of production that churned out a quality film all contributed to this result. But they have to be feeling good about their restart of the Star Wars universe. With more movies ahead, including 2016’s Rogue One and 2017’s Episode VIII, the momentum is there. All this and we still don’t know how The Force Awakens will fair over time. We’re at the end of the year, which means there aren’t any major releases to come in and take over its box office dominance. There are quality awards season closers such as The Revenant and The Hateful Eight, but neither will really cut into the territory carved out by Star Wars. Then we’re into the dead zone of January and February. Fans might want to stay warm with another viewing (or three) of The Force Awakens while its still in theaters. For the first time in a long time, I’m hearing from many people who aren’t just seeing a movie, they are counting how many times (some with two hands!).

Here’s the box office kicker: the film is yet to open in a number of territories, including the booming market of China (January 9). So don’t be surprised if Star Wars hasn’t finished chasing down box office records.