22 Dec – It's been a long wait, and as expected, "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" ruled cinemas in the U.S., Malaysia and Singapore as it claimed the top spot for the weekend box office of 17 to 20 December 2015. In North America, the J.J Abrams movie made USD257.9 domestically, securing the top spot for the weekend and dethroning the USD208.8 million weekend record set by "Jurassic World" earlier this year. Coming in at second place is "Alvin and the Chipmunks the Road Chip" which took in a modest USD14.2 million and the Tina Fey and Amy Pohler comedy, "Sisters", which made USD13.9 million at third place. It's no surprise that the seventh "Star Wars" film in the series performed amazingly, as the marketing and promotional activities for it have been gradually building worldwide since early this year before finally reaching a fever pitch in the last few months before its release. Making an additional USD281 million internationally, "Star Wars: The Force Awakens'" current worldwide box office gross comes to a staggering USD524.9 million, where it also beats the worldwide opening record set by "Jurassic World" which made USD520.8 million. However, "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" may beat the record even further when it finally opens in China almost 3 weeks late on 9 January 2016, unlike "Jurassic World" which enjoyed a simultaneous China release date. In Malaysia, "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" contributed RM12.3 million (according to Box Office Mojo) to its international collection as most cinemas reported good occupancy rates on the first day of screening. With only the local Tamil movie "Jagat" opening on the same day and Bollywood movies "Dilwale" and "Bajirao Mastani" opening a day later, Hollywood movie fans sure lapped up the only new Hollywood fare at the cinemas. Local cinema goers should not expect the craze to die down anytime soon too, as a Tamil dubbed version of the movie is set to be released at selected GSC Cinemas this 25 December onwards. As colossal as this "Star Wars" box office performance may be, it still didn't manage to beat the highest opening weekend record in Malaysia held by "Fast and Furious 7" which made RM31.3 million back in its April opening weekend. Coming in at second place in Malaysia is the Tamil film "Thanga Magan" starring Dhanush, and "Dilwale", the Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol film which came in at third. In Singapore, "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" made SGD3.61 million at first place, but just like Malaysia, another movie stands in its way for the highest opening weekend record; "Avengers: Age of Ultron", which took in SGD5 million in its opening weekend earlier this year. Coming in at second and third place respectively is "The Peanuts Movie" which made around SGD222 thousand and "The Good Dinosaur" which took in SGD119 thousand. Other new releases in Malaysia from last weekend are "Bajirao Mastani" and "Jagat". New movies in Singapore that opened last weekend are "Bajirao Mastani", "Thanga Magan", "Dilwale", "The Beauty Inside" and "Before We Go".
Box office takings for the weekend just gone (17 December - 20 December 2015)