You’re probably well aware of this fact (you are currently on the internet after all), but Star Wars: The Force Awakens is finally hitting theaters. The movie hasn’t even officially opened yet in the U.S., but it’s already breaking records, so it’s fair to say that folks are rather pumped up for this one and it’s going to make a ton of money. And just to show that all the members of the Disney clan are one big happy family, Marvel offered Star Wars and Lucasfilm an adorable note of congratulations.
As this tweet from the official Marvel Twitter account notes, the Force is indeed very strong today. If you’ve set foot on social media, turned on a TV, or maybe even just looked outside of your house today, I’m sure you noticed that Star Wars has damn near taken over the entire planet. Let’s hope we can all dodge spoilers until we finally make into a theater to witness The Force Awakens for ourselves.
While it doesn’t touch down on U.S. shores until later today, the seventh journey to that far, far away galaxy created by George Lucas opened in places like France, Norway, Sweden, Italy, and more Wednesday. In those territories it managed to whip up a $14.1 million take already, boasting the biggest opening number in each individual place.
And though The Force Awakens doesn’t start screening domestically until 7:00 Eastern, it’s already decimated a record on Fandango. The movie ticket seller reported that the J.J. Abrams-directed space opera has already surpassed "most tickets sold for any film during its entire theatrical run," and that is entirely from presales. It took the top slot from Jurassic World.
We’ll have to wait and see what the final numbers are for The Force Awakens, but anyway you break it down, this movie is going to do just fine at the box office. Early reviews and word of mouth have been largely positive, which indicates that this one will likely have legs—let’s be honest, this is Star Wars, even if it sucks, we’re still all going to see it like ten times—so maybe it will even challenge Avatar for the top slot all time.
Odds are, however much money Star Wars: The Force Awakens scrapes together, it will knock some Marvel movies down a peg on the box office list. That could make for some awkward encounters when all the Disney kids get together to celebrate the holidays. But don’t worry, ESPN will show up and the rich nerds and the jocks can make fun of each other.
