'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' Surpasses 'Jurassic World' for Biggest Global Launch
"Star Wars: The Force Awakens" has broken box office records and has surpassed "Jurassic World" for the biggest worldwide debut.
On Monday, Disney chief Bob Iger told Bloomberg that "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" may have grossed higher than their initial estimates. While Disney at first estimated the film's global receipts to amount to $517 million, the local numbers turned out to be higher than expected at around $247 million, according to Variety.
It seems that the "Star Wars" sequel will hit US$528 million, which is higher than the dinosaur film's $524 million for global release, The Hollywood Reporter details.
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"That's an incredible weekend," Iger told Bloomberg on Moday. "What this really does is it sets this great franchise up for far more value creation over a longer period of time for the company."
It is worth noting that "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" has not even launched in China yet. The Asian nation is the biggest movie market in the world. The film is set for a Jan. 9 release in China.
In a statement, Walt Disney Studios chairperson Alan Horn commended film director J.J. Abrams, Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy, and the rest of the Lucasfilm crew for performing beyond expectations. He recalled that they had aimed to create a movie that would provide fans with a unique "Star Wars" experience, the report relay.
Aside from breaking records for the biggest worldwide launch, "Force Awakens" also broke other records. It achieved the widest December release in history by being screened in 4,134 theaters in North America, biggest single day and biggest opening day with $120.5 million in revenue, and biggest Imax bow with $30.1 million.
"Star Wars: The Force Awakens" takes place three decades after the previous film "Star Wars: Episode VI — Return of the Jedi." The latest sequel focuses on the story of heroine Rey (Daisy Ridley) and renegade stormtrooper (John Boyega) who team up to defeat a rising enemy. Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Oscar Isaac, Adam Driver, Domhnall Gleeson, and Lupita Nyong'o also star in the film.
