Forget about Christmas, December is Star Wars season and Disney is taking home all the presents. Star Wars: The Last Jedi put the cherry on their superlative year with a $450 million global opening. Already just 11% below their $2 billion showpiece The Force Awakens on the domestic market, TLJ is all but certain to become the biggest movie of 2017. The studio, who is now gearing up to fight antitrust scrutiny and complete their purchase of the majority of Fox’s film and television assets, has made over $5 billion in global sales this year, zooming past the benchmark at the end of November. Four of 2017’s top-selling films are already in their back pocket, including current global number one Beauty and the Beast. If Star Wars keeps up the pace, Mickey Mouse’s media behemoth will end up with five out of ten of the year’s best-selling films.

The Last Jedi’s continued adventures of already iconic characters Rey, Finn, Kylo Renn, Poe Dameron and Princess Leia, played sadly for the last time by Carrie Fisher, brought a starring role after decades out of the limelight for Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker, the hero of the original trilogy. US audiences turned up to the tune of $220 million and gave it an A cinema score, while critical reviews have been sharply divided. It has already had the second biggest opening weekend in the US of all time, and the fifth biggest worldwide opening. Sales in TLJ’s 54 foreign territories were worth $230 million, and it took number one in all but one of its markets. The UK was its second biggest territory at $36.7 million, followed by Germany at $23.6 million, France at $18.1 million and Australia at $15.9 million. Japan, next on the list, made $14.4 million. It scored the year’s best opening in each of these countries. IMAX screenings were worth $40.6 million, also a 2017 record. After just one week The Last Jedi has managed to close the gap between this year and last year’s global box office sales by a whole percentage point, and could singlehandedly make up for Hollywood’s terrible summer numbers. It will continue to dominate the charts for the next few weeks, before moving into China on January 5.

The only movie opening against this market killer was possible future Fox title Ferdinand, which now is owned by Disney. Veteran animation lead Carlos Saldanha directs this film based on the classic children’s book, Ferdinand the Bull. WWE superstar John Cena voices the title character, a bull that doesn’t want to fight his would-be matador. He is joined by Kate McKinnon, Anthony Anderson, Gina Rodriguez and Bobby Carnavale, as well as retired super bowl winner quarterback Peyton Manning. It made $13.3 million and $6.2 million overseas, leaving a mountain left to climb as it tries to make up its reported budget of over $100 million. 

The second biggest film of the week worldwide was Chinese title Youth, a coming of age drama from director Feng Xiaogang. It opened to $48 million, with a small portion of that coming from three smaller Asian markets. It’s about a group of young army cadets who join the PLA’s dance team in the years following the Cultural Revolution, and their experience in the emerging New China.

Next week Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle launches in the US along with Golden Globe Nominees The Greatest Showman, Downsizing and The Post.