'Rogue One: A Star Wars Story' garners $290m globally on 1st weekend

On the first weekend of its opening, Gareth Edwards' 'Rogue One

According to box office analyst Exhibitor Relations, North America accounted for about half of the total, making 155 million dollars, 16.8 million pounds at the UK box office and is yet to open in China and South Korea, reports BBC.

On record, the film has the second-best December opening weekend in Canada, and both the UK and the US, after 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' which took 248 million dollars in North America on its debut last year.

Based on the success of 'Rogue One' and 'The Force Awakens', analyst Paul Dergarabedian said, "The next film in the Star Wars saga has the potential to claim the title as the biggest movie of all time."

However, the title is still held by James Cameron's 'Avatar' that made almost 2.8 billion dollars in 2009, followed by 'Titanic' on close to 2.2 billion dollars in 1997.

Starring Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Donnie Yen and Riz Ahmed, alongside Forest Whitaker, the first standalone chapter in the 'Star Wars' saga is set shortly before the events of the original 1977 film and tells the story of Rebel Alliance fighters trying to steal plans for the Empire's feared Death Star.