By Eliza Berman and Heather Jones
The Force awakened, and the sound it made was “cha-ching.” Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the seventh episode of the epic film franchise that began in 1977, was long expected to set box office records, and now that the opening weekend has passed, we can definitively say that it did—and how. The previous record-holder for domestic weekend box office, without adjusting for inflation, was Jurassic World, which took in $208.8 million in its first weekend. By comparison, Star Wars: The Force Awakens raked in a whopping $238 million in its first weekend, and even before the opening, pre-sale tickets totaled more than $100 million.
More Must-Reads From TIME
- The 100 Most Influential People of 2024
- How Far Trump Would Go
- Scenes From Pro-Palestinian Encampments Across U.S. Universities
- Saving Seconds Is Better Than Hours
- Why Your Breakfast Should Start with a Vegetable
- 6 Compliments That Land Every Time
- Welcome to the Golden Age of Ryan Gosling
- Want Weekly Recs on What to Watch, Read, and More? Sign Up for Worth Your Time
Write to Eliza Berman at eliza.berman@time.com