NEW YORK (AP) – “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” has sent a box office record with an estimated $57 million from Thursday night shows.
The Walt Disney Co.’s estimate on Friday easily surpassed the previous Thursday night record of $43.5 million by 2011’s “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2.”
The movie’s international rollout, which began Wednesday, has brought in a total of $72.7 million. That includes the biggest single day ever in the United Kingdom, where it made an estimated $14.4 million.
The early figures suggest “The Force Awakens” is on course to exceed the record domestic opening of “Jurassic World,” which debuted with $208.8 million.