“Star Wars: The Force Awakens” took in an estimated $120 million in its first day in theaters across the United States and Canada, according to industry figures released today. That breaks the previous one-day record of $91 million set by 2011’s “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows II.”
The big haul puts the latest reboot of the “Star Wars” franchise on track to set the all-time record for an opening weekend, currently held by “Jurassic World.” That film opened this summer and took in $208 million in its first weekend, slightly ahead of 2012’s “Marvel’s The Avengers,” which made $207 million in its opening weekend.
“The Force Awakens” is playing on 4,134 screens in the U.S. and Canada this weekend. “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows II” opened on 4,375 screens in 2011.
The figures provided by Rentrak measure box-office receipts, and do not account for how many tickets are sold.
