For those who thought the new Star Wars film wasn’t going to be a big deal in China, time to hang your head in defeat. The latest Star Wars film, The Force Awakens, has taken 53 million USD in ticket sales on its first weekend in China, awarding the intergalactic adventure the award for the highest ever sales on an opening weekend.
Globally, the film is now the third-highest grossing release ever behind Avatar and Titanic.
The Force Awakens, which comes ten years after the last Star Wars instalment, is the first Star Wars film under the ownership of The Walt Disney Company, and the first to be directed by JJ Abrams. For many cinema goers in China, this is the first time they have been to see a Star Wars film in the cinema, as the other six films in the franchise weren’t screened here.
Whilst there were some doubts the film would break records in China, anyone who has walked through People's Square station will have an idea just how much marketing Disney have done to make sure everyone and their mum is aware of the film's arrival.
Disney also put 500 Stormtroopers on the great wall last October - either as a PR stunt or because Genghis Khan et al. were spotted on the horizon atop giant mechanical camels.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens is on general release now.