Star Wars Episode 7 The Force Awakens smashes box office records with $517m opening weekend worldwide
Star Wars has lived up to the fever pitch hype breaking box office records over the weekend.
The hugely anticipated seventh Star Wars film, The Force Awakens, raked in $517m (£347m) across the globe, and grossed a record $238m in the US and Canada alone, making it the biggest ever opening weekend in history ahead of dinosaur blockbuster Jurassic Word, which raked in $208.8m earlier this year.
The force is with Disney, which snapped up LucasFilm for $4bn in 2012, and merchandise, toys, video games and DVD sales are likely to bring in even more than ticket sales.
Globally it ranks as the second biggest opening in history, behind Jurassic World, according to the estimates from the film company. However, The Force Awakens is yet to be released in China until 9 January.
