Yes! You read it right. ‘The Force Awakens’ has broken all records and has become biggest opener of all time. With an estimated $238 million in its first three days in US and $279 internationally, TFA has not only broken the previous record set by ‘Jurassic World’ but also broke the record for the largest Friday opening at $120.5 million beating ‘The Hobbit: An Expected Journey’ by a difference of about $36 million.
The film now holds the following US records:
• Largest Thursday Previews: $57 million*
Previous Record: $43.5 million (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2)
• Largest Friday, Opening Day, Single Day: $120.5 million (estimated)
Previous Record: $91 million (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2)
• Domestic Opening Weekend: $238 million (estimate)
Previous Record: $208.8 million (Jurassic World)
• Highest Per Theater Average (Wide Opening): $57,571 (estimate)
Previous Record: $48,855 / 4,274 theaters (Jurassic World)
• Top Opening Weekend for PG-13 Rated Film: $238 million (estimate)
Previous Record: $208.8 million (Jurassic World)
• Top Holiday Opening Weekend**: $238 million (estimate)
Previous Record: $158 million (The Hunger Games: Catching Fire)
• Biggest Weekend Overall (Top 12 Gross): $294.5 million
Previous Record: $266 million (June 12-14, 2015)
• Biggest December Weekend (Top 12 Gross): $294.5 million
Previous Record: $259.9 million (Dec 25-27, 2009)
• December Single Day: $120.5 million (estimated)
Previous Record: $37.13 million (The Hobbit An Unexpected Journey)
• Widest December Opening: 4,134 theaters
Previous Record: 4,045 theaters (The Hobbit An Unexpected Journey)
• December Opening Weekend: $238 million (estimate)
Previous Record: $84.62 million (The Hobbit An Unexpected Journey)
• Fastest to $100 Million: 1 Day
Previous Record: 2 Days (Jurassic World)
• Global IMAX Opening Record: $48 million
Previous Record: $44.1 million (Jurassic World)
• Domestic IMAX Opening Record: $30.1 million
Previous Record: $20.9 million (Jurassic World)
* While TFA screenings began at 12.01AM Thursday in International market and 7 PM on Thursday in US, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 record included midnight only screenings.
** Holiday is defined as the first Friday in November through New Year’s week or weekend.
Source: Box Office Mojo
Sadly, it fell short of breaking the Saturday and Sunday sales record there are a lot of record the movie can still break like the fastest $300M, $500M etc. and the highest domestic grossing currently held by ‘Avatar’ in the US market.
Though, Internationally ‘The Force Awakens’ fell short of ‘Jurassic World’s’ international opening weekend record ($316.1 million) as well as its global opening record of $524.9 million but I am estimating that the final numbers are still to come in and this record can be broken.
The big thing to note here is that the movie is yet to open in big markets like China and India. Disney has done a huge marketing push in China and the movie’s India release was delayed due to release of two very big Bollywood movies Dilwale starring Shahrukh Khan and Bajirao-Mastani.
It is exciting to see what will be the final figure of ‘The Force Awakens’. I am estimating it to be around $1.3-1.4 Billion, considering all digital, DVD and Blu-ray rights.
What do you think?
