'Star Wars: The Last Jedi' scores massive $450 mln in opening weekend

'The Last Jedi' is just the 2nd film in history to earn $100-M or more on Day 1. The Empire Strikes Back, generally regarded as the best Star Wars movie, earned a 94 percent among critics with 97 percent of users (more than one million votes) liking it.

Where will Star Wars: The Last Jedi finish in box office earnings? Globally, it recorded the fifth biggest worldwide opening of all time after The Fate of the Furious, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Jurassic World and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2.

Disney said the huge haul means the film has had the biggest opening of 2017 in the United Kingdom and the third biggest opening weekend of all time.

It sees Mark Hamill and the late Carrie Fisher reprise their roles as Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia.

Walt Disney Co shares rose $0.23 (+0.21%) in premarket trading Monday.

The Last Jedi opened worldwide last week, with the exception of China, where it debuts on Jan 5.

Fox's counter-programming foray with animated family comedy "Ferdinand" finished a distant second with $13.3 million at 3,621 locations in North America amid expectations of a $15 million debut.

Directed by Rian Johnson, the epic space opera follows Rey as she receives Jedi training from Luke Skywalker in hopes of turning the tide for the Resistance in the continued fight against Kylo Ren and the First Order.

"The results speak to the power of representation".

The Force Awakens, for example, is rated at 93 percent fresh, with 88 percent of fans liking it, and a year ago Rogue One scored 85 percent among critics with 87 percent liking it. Director Rian Johnson talks about the pressure to have Luke dying in the movie and the decisions that helped him go through with it. By comparison, it has in three days already bested the five-week gross of Warner Bros.' Justice League ($219.5 million).