In a expected record-setting opening, “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” left the rest of the movie world in the dust over the weekend, collecting $248 million in its North American debut, according to final figures released Monday.
The film broke the opening-weekend record set by “Jurassic World” last summer, and also set a record for single-day sales with $120.5 million on Friday, according to Rentrak.
The film also had the biggest Thursday preview gross, at $57 million, and was the fastest to ever reach the $100 million and $200 million benchmarks. “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” is already over the half-billion-dollar mark worldwide.
Moviegoers did spend money on some other films over the weekend, although they were dwarfed by “Star Wars.”
“Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip” debuted in second place with $14.3 million, while the Tina Fey-Amy Poehler comedy “Sisters” opened in third place with $14 million.
Rounding out the 10 most-popular movies of the weekend were “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 2” ($5.7 million); “Creed” ($5 million); “The Good Dinosaur” ($4.3 million); “Krampus” ($4.1 million); “In the Heart of the Sea” ($3.5 million); “Dilwale” ($1.9 million); and “Bajirao Mastani” ($1.7 million).
— Wire reports