UPDATED: The Force Awakens sets new box-office record, surprising absolutely no one

In what might be the least surprising development of the week (aside from the temperature finally dropping in Chicago because it’s December), Star Wars: Episode VII—The Force Awakens raked in millions overnight at the box office. In fact, it dealt such a crushing blow to the “competition” that 2011 releases like Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 2 felt it. According to Deadline, The Force Awakens’ box-office take totaled $57 million, breaking the $43.5 million record for a preview night set by the final Harry Potter movie.

Of course, Deathly Hallows Part 2 still currently holds the record for biggest single opening day with $91 million. Now, math isn’t our strong suit, but since The Force Awakens already has a $13 million leg up on the Deathly Hallows Part 2 overnight box-office record, it looks poised to break that record, too. This news would probably make adult Harry Potter sad, if he weren’t already busy being depressed by everything else going on his life.

The Force Awakens also performed well in its 3-D iteration, which Deadline tallies at 47% of the overall take, with $5.7 million coming in from IMAX theaters (no word yet on how it’s doing over at the Cinerama Dome, though any number will probably enrage Quentin Tarantino further). The weekend’s not over yet (or really begun, for that matter), so stand by for the inevitable news that The Force Awakens also managed to beat Jurassic World’s record for biggest (domestic) opening weekend ($208.8 million).

[UPDATE: Variety reports The Force Awakens’ opening weekend box-office haul has broken records once held by Jurassic World. The latest Star Wars film made approximately $247 million domestically, despite some concerns that its ticket sales were lagging. The Force Awakens’ $528 million global box-office take has also edged past Jurassic World, which made $524.7 million when it premiered, for biggest worldwide debut. But the narrow margin by which The Force Awakens has beaten Jurassic World doesn’t include any revenue from China, which contributed $90 million to the dino-sequel and could potentially be a huge market for this lil’ Disney movie. We say “potentially” because moviegoers in China haven’t exactly been waiting on this sequel with bated breath.

 
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