Star Wars: The Force Awakens broke box office records by earning $57 million in one day.
It hasn’t even been in theaters a full 24 hours, and it’s already smashing its way to the top of the highest box office earners. According to Forbes, Episode VII broke the Thursday box office record of $52 million held by its saga predecessor, Revenge of the Sith. That record was for a full day, not just night viewings, while The Force Awakens showings didn’t start till about 7 pm.
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The weekend has barely even begun, however, and analysts at Forbes are expecting The Force Awakens to break even more records. It has to surpass Jurassic World‘s $500 million domestic payday for an opening weekend to be at the top, but at this point, that doesn’t seem like an impossible goal. On the contrary, it seems unavoidable. It’s already on the warpath to defeating World‘s opening Friday box office record of $64.2 million.
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This film was born to be a success. From fan hype leading up to the premiere, to the positive reviews from popular entertainment outlets, The Force Awakens‘ popularity has permeated pop culture consciousness since 2012. And it will continue to do so as we look forward to multiple viewings, books and comics fleshing out the new state of the galaxy and the new characters, and Episode VIII, which will premiere in May 2017.