The opening weekend for Star Wars: The Force Awakens is officially the biggest in North American box office history.
Its first weekend in theaters, the seventh film of the beloved franchise brought in $238 million, the Associated Press reports. The previous record-holder was Jurassic World, which made $208.8 million during its debut weekend over the summer.
Globally, Star Wars brought in $517 million, coming in just under the $525 million that Jurassic World made. However, the latter had the advantage of opening in China as well; The Force Awakens doesn’t come out there until Jan. 9.
Paul Dergarabedian, a box office analyst for Rentrak, told the AP that it can end up bringing in $2 billion by the time it leaves theaters. Earnings were helped by viewers choosing to see the film on pricier screens, including IMAX and 3D. IMAX theaters alone brought in $48 million of Star Wars‘ global earnings.
“It feels historic,” Dave Hollis, Disney’s executive vice president of theatrical distribution, told AP. “It’s hard to think you could replicate this, but never say never.”
This weekend was in fact historic. Mostly thanks to Star Wars, it was the biggest weekend in box office history. The second-highest earning film was Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip with $14.4 million, followed by the Tina Fey and Amy Poehler comedy, Sisters, with $13.4 million. This year could be the first that the box office reaches $11 billion. Dergarabedian tells AP, “I think we’re going to do it.”
