In recent years, a number of Hollywood films have shattered the record for highest-grossing domestic opening; raking in piles of cash as larger-than-life as the dinosaurs and Death Stars they depict on the screen.
These opening figures take into account the money a movie makes from the day that it opens through its first Sunday in theaters. And when you look at the the list of movies with the biggest ever U.S. opening weekends, one thing is clear: Action and fantasy sell.
In December 2015, "Star Wars: Episode VII" raked in a cosmic $528 million worldwide and roughly $247 million domestically, stealing the top spot from "Jurassic World" in a sort of lightsaber battle of cash.
By CBS News staff writer Christina Capatides