Star Wars: The Force Awakens has been making a killing in the box office since its premiere at midnight on Friday.
High expectations rode on this film, and it did not disappoint with $120.5 million for opening day, marking the largest Friday, opening day, and single day records. The record was previously held by another seventh movie – Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 at $91 million.
In only one day, the film pulled an estimated quarter of a billion dollars globally, challenging the record currently held by James Cameron’s Avatar at $2.8 billion as the highest-grossing film of all time.
The movie is already receiving rave reviews from fans and critics alike, even being lauded for its feminist standpoint. The film currently has an 8.8/10 stars on IMDb and a 95% on Rotten Tomatoes for audience and 93% for critics.
No one is willing to miss this premiere, not even astronauts in space at the moment!
According to Tim Peake, a British astronaut who just headed to space 2 days preceding the premiere:
.@ChrisEastabrook We have a projector & screen onboard & I'm told that @starwars will be waiting for us up there…what a place to watch it!
— Tim Peake (@astro_timpeake) December 12, 2015
Episode VII kicks off a new trilogy, with VIII and IX already scheduled. All are directed by the legendary J.J. Abrams.