Star Wars starts in South Africa and breaks the office

(AGI) - Cape Town, Dec 12 - The new Star Wars movie, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, has broken the record for the biggest opening Wednesday in South African box office history, the Walt Disney Company Africa announced. South Africa was the first country in the world to screen the film, with the worldwide release only set for Friday. The seventh edition of the George Lucas created franchise beat previous box office title holder, Marvel's 2013 release of Iron Man 3. The film grossed R4 726 865 (about 286mila euro) on Wednesday, 16 December, its first day of release, with over 70 000 fans flocking to cinemas.The film has also beaten Fast & the Furious 7 into second place for the most pre-sold tickets to any film in South Africa."We are thrilled at the reception South African fans have given Star Wars: The Force Awakens," said Christine Service, senior vice-president and country manager of Walt Disney Company Africa. Brad Knowles of South Africa cinema group Ster Kinekor said most movie goers have opted to watch the film in 3D, making it the busiest release date ever at their Imax theatres."Our Cape Gate Imax theatre (in Cape Town) is doing exceptionally well. A lot of advanced booking has taken place. Sixteen December was the busiest day in Imax history in South Africa. That's a really encouraging start of the Star Wars franchise". (AGI) .