"Star Wars: The Force Awakens" is about to break Christmas box office records and has already surpassed opening week predictions. Since opening in theaters worldwide, the highly anticipated sequel has reeled in $288 million at the box office.
The first George Lucas film by Disney has already toppled a record held by "Spider Man 2" with initial box office estimates tagging at $40.2 million since Dec. 21, Monday. The figure is 44 percent higher than "Spider Man 2's" first Monday release of $27.7 million.
According to Perez Hilton, the big numbers for "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" at the box office was unexpected. "Star Wars" is on its way to becoming the top box office opening-weekend film ever, edging out "Jurassic World," which recorded an opening weekend ticket sales of $524.9 million. "Jurassic World" was also released in China, which was attributed to $100 million tickets sales.
Disney CEO Bob Iger told the publication that the "bigger than big" figures were a surprise at the box office. However, he added the total number of ticket sales worldwide for the opening weekend will be close to $528 million.
"No wonder J.J. Abrams is nervous," an analyst told Hollywood Reporter. Underlying the $4 billion investment in "Star Wars" is the movie's marketability, from merchandise to video games and theme parks. This is a "must-pay-off" film, according to Hollywood film critics.
One advantage for the "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" at the box office is the Christmas holidays. School kids, off from school, are going to be trekking to theaters like magnets, and this is going to increase ticket sales even more.
However, theaters across the country will be closed on Christmas Eve, which means there will be no collections on the day for "Star Wars."