Star Wars: The Force Awakens on record-shattering warpath

It seems that no box-office record is safe from the Galactic Empire-like wrath of Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens. Not only did the film manage to outsell every other film in history on Fandango before it even came out, it set a slew of single-day international records once it actually did hit theaters.

According to Variety, the seventh Star Wars film posted the biggest single-day box-office haul of all-time in the United Kingdom/Ireland ($14.4 million), Germany ($6.8 million), Sweden ($2.7 million), and Norway ($1.1 million). The film also set opening day records in Austria, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, New Zealand, Finland, Netherlands, Ukraine, Slovakia, Croatia, Iceland, Serbia, Switzerland, Chile, and Peru.

Throw in a record $57 million haul from Thursday’s domestic preview showings and The Force Awakens has already generated a worldwide total of $129.7 million … in two days.

That number is especially impressive in light of the fact that the film has yet to debut in several major foreign markets, including India and China (also known as the two most highly populated countries on Planet Earth).

There’s no indication that these Death Star-sized numbers will subside any time soon, either, as the film has received almost universally positive reviews and word of mouth. According to review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film boasts a 95 percent fresh rating with the critics who’ve weighed in thus far, and a 93 percent audience score.

All told, this seems like the perfect storm for a box-office bonanza. While the production budget for The Force Awakens reportedly exceeded $200 million, it doesn’t look like Disney and Lucasfilm’s cash cow will have any problem making that back in the film’s first week. In fact, it will almost certainly hit that number in its first weekend.

Stay tuned for further updates, and to watch the records continue to fall.

Also watch: Star Wars Death Star Waffle Maker from ThinkGeek.mp4

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from Planet GS via John Jason Fallows on Inoreader http://ift.tt/1T6MGnj
Adam Poltrack