Star Wars: The Force Awakens blasts off with $529M opening weekend

As expected, Star Wars: The Force Awakens has vanquished existing box office records, with J.J. Abrams' much-anticipated return to a galaxy far, far away racking up boffo numbers worldwide and a global opening-weekend haul of $529 million US, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

From the U.S. to Russia, Japan to the U.K., the seventhepisode of the epic space saga rocketed past previous records andshatteredearlier projections.

In Canada, for instance, The Force Awakens hit $18.6 million Cdn in ticket sales on the weekend, making it the biggest opening weekend ever for a film in Canada.

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The movie, which opened in theatres Thursday evening, blew past the last record-holder, The Avengers, which made $15.6 million in Canada on its opening weekend in 2012.

The Force Awakens also set records for the biggest Friday and biggest single-day box office gross in Canadian history, as well as the biggest opening weekend of all time in Quebec, according to Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Canada.

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The nostalgia is strong in The Force Awakens, which is guaranteed to satisfy Star Wars fans, says CBC's Eli Glasner.

Meanwhile, the well-received and well-reviewed space western grossed $248 million US in the North American market the biggest opening of all time, not accounting for inflation.

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Worldwide, the film's global launch took in approximately $529 million US, surpassingJurassic World's $524.9 million opening in June.

The achievement is remarkable since the most recent film in the dinosaur franchise opened in China the world's second-largest movie market, after the U.S. on the same day as in North America, while The Force Awakens isn't set to debut in China until Jan. 9, 2016.

The film, which also set new records for a December movie opening in North America, biggest Thursday night preview screening in North Americanand fastest film to $200 million US, is expected to continue as a box office draw through the new year.