It already made $14 million in limited European showings, and nobody expected that Star Wars: The Force Awakens was going to fizzle on Thursday. But it not only had a hit opening, it pulled an Alderaan on the competition.
Currently Variety has the Star Wars sequel making $57 million, easily outgrossing Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows: Part 2‘ $43 million record set in 2011. If that weren’t enough, it’s grossed $72.7 million overseas so far, and we haven’t even hit the weekend or seen it open in every country yet. It’s not out of the realm of possibility, if trends hold, that Star Wars will break even on its budget by the end of the weekend, although ticket sales ultimately matter less than all the toys Disney will sell.
The question now, of course, is how many other records it can break. This summer saw Jurassic World surprise everyone with a $208 million opening weekend, and Star Wars looks poised to break that record. It’s already sold $100 million in advance tickets, after all, and Jurassic World “only” made $18 million its opening Thursday. But, of course, we’ll see on Monday once the cash is totalled, and really, the records don’t matter nearly as much as good Star Wars in theaters again.
(via Variety)
