Star Wars: The Force Awakens has smashed UK box office records on its opening day.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
We all knew that the seventh Star Wars movie was going to be huge, but the film took a very impressive £9.6 million in just twenty-four hours - setting a new UK and Ireland record.
Of that £9.6 million, £2.4 million came from the midnight screenings, smashing all previous records. The Force Awakens is the most anticipated film of the year and fans flocked to cinemas for the midnight screenings up and down the country.
Tickets for the highly anticipated film went on sale in October and sold more than 200,000 tickets in 24 hours. Exhibitors continually added screens to accommodate demand which resulted in a total of 2 million booked tickets ahead of the release - breaking another record for advanced ticket bookings.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens is the first Star Wars movie since Revenge of the Sith a decade ago and the movie is set thirty years after events of Return of the Jedi.
J.J. Abrams has directed a Star Wars film for the first time and has brought together a cast that is a mix of well-known faces and brand new characters.
Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, and Mark Hamill are back as Han Solo, Leia, and Luke Skywalker. Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong'o, Andy Serkis, and Domhnall Gleeson are some of the new names on board.
The movie received it's premiered in America earlier in the week, where the film was met by rave reviews. The director and cast them came to London for the European premiere.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens could challenge Jurassic World to become the highest grossing film of the year. Jurassic World currently holds the record for the fastest film to gross $1 billion - I think this record could also be under threat.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens is out no in 2D, 3D, and Imax 3D.
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