Star Wars: The Force Awakens tipped to smash box office records

As Irish audiences flock to the latest chapter in the Star Wars saga, the blockbuster is set to smash sales records.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens matinees helped push the movie to a record $120.5m in North American ticket sales on Friday, giving the space adventure a good chance to break the $208.8m opening-weekend record set last summer by Jurassic World.

It also marks the first time a movie has surpassed $100m so soon, Walt Disney said, topping the record held by a Harry Potter picture.