After much waiting, moviegoers in China finally able to feel the Force. Walt Disney has stated that "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" has just opened in China and garnered an estimated $33 million in ticket sales on the first day of its release, representing the film studio's biggest opening day in China and the highest Saturday opening day ever in the country, according to The Guardian.
The seventh installment in the beloved science-fiction franchise has already set records around the world, breaching the $1 billion mark in record time and with global sales reaching $1.6 billion by last Thursday.
In its opening day in China, the film accounted for 70 percent of tickets sold during the day. With its sales figures on the first day of the movie's release in the country, "The Force Awakens" has achieved the third-best opening-day performance in China's history, reports Yahoo! News.
If "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" earns more than $390 million in China, it would become the highest-grossing Hollywood film ever released in the country. The title is currently being held by another blockbuster, "Fast and Furious 7."
Though the numbers are impressive in their own right, it is quite notable that the turnouts of moviegoers are a bit less than Disney expected. Part of this is suspected to be due to the lack of nostalgia for the sci-fi franchise, especially since the original trilogy was released when China was still reeling from the cultural revolution, according to CNN.
Through a series of aggressive marketing campaigns, which included an army of storm troopers positioned in the Great Wall and a music video from a popular pop icon, Disney hopes to gain the hearts of Chinese viewers with the seventh Star Wars installment.
