'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' Breaks Many Box Office Records

Movie

The latest installment of the popular sci-fi movie franchise debuts at No. 1 on the domestic chart with $248 million.

December 21, 2015

AceShowbiz -

This is a proof of how strong "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" loyal fan base is. The highly anticipated movie shatters box office records in its first weekend, including the opening weekend ticket sales of $248 million from theaters in North America.

It surpasses the previous record holder, "Jurassic World", which opened to $208.8 million in its opening weekend. Worldwide the seventh installment of the sci-fi movie franchise has earned approximately $517 million, just below "Jurassic World" which garnered $524 million total earlier this year.

"The Force Awakens" amazing performance has been apparent since the opening night, earning a record-setting of $57 million just hours after it opened on Thursday night. After it's added to the Friday numbers, the movie earned the biggest single-day gross with $120.5 million. It also became the first film ever to earn more than $100 million in a single day.

The opening weekend number also marks the biggest December debut of all time. Opening in 4,134 theaters, the J. J. Abrams-directed flick scored the highest theater average for a wide release with $59,982.

Editors' Pick

Internationally, "The Force Awakens" is the third biggest international opening of all time with $279 million, behind "Jurassic World" ($316 million) and "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II" ($314 million).

Back to the domestic chart, newcomers "Alvin and the Chipmunks The Road Chip" and "Sisters" place second and third with $14.3 million and $13.9 million respectively. "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 2" falls from No. 1 to No. 4 with additional $5.9 million, while "Creed" slips from No. 4 to No. 5 with an estimated $5 million.