The force was definitely with everyone because the first installation for the new trilogy hauled in a hefty $517 Million, making it the biggest North American debut of all time according to a studio estimates. Now I think, to say that the force was strong on this one is an understatement.
The film crashed Universal's "Jurassic World," which used to hold the record. It is definitely safe to say that the film has gone beyond everybody's expectations. The international release fell quite short and landed next to "Jurassic World" at $525 million. China was taking the dinosaurs' side being that Luke Skywalker and Darthvader is set to make their appearance on the 9th of January.
This is just the most recent in the string of records set by J.J Abrams' film and seventh in the franchise, which were anticipated by analysts to have an earnings of somewhere between $150 million and $300 million.
The thing that made it so interesting to critics and movie goers is the quality. Though the movie did a lot of pre-sales, it was kept under the wraps from the press, as well as critics until only a few days before the film was set to be released. The film got a spectacular reviews as well as response from the audience.
Rentrak's Senior Media Analyst, Paul Dergarabedian said the biggest factor that can push the film to reach the $2 billion mark, is quality. There are already a number of fans who have gone for the second time to relive their Star Wars experience once more.
Disney's executive vice president of theatrical distribution, Dave Hollis was surprised that the enthusiasm of the movie goers has somehow turned into a cultural event, calling it "unbelievable." He added saying that it feels historic. The marketing team has been strapped on their seats for the past years trying their best to create an event like this. ."It's hard to think you could replicate this, but never say never," he added.
