The Force is back, and it's stronger than ever.
J.J. Abrams' Star Wars: The Force Awakens shattered numerous box-office records over the weekend, grossing $238 million in North America — the biggest opening of all time, not accounting for inflation — for a global launch of $517 million.
Some rival distributors even have Force Awakens grossing closer to $245 million domestically; final weekend numbers will be released Monday.
The previous biggest domestic opening was this summer's Jurassic World with $208.8 million.
Worldwide, Force Awakens scored the second-biggest start of all time behind Jurassic World ($524.9 million), which had the advantage of opening day and date in China.
Force Awakens doesn't debut in the world's second-largest moviegoing market until Jan. 9.