'Star Wars' A Hit In China As Worldwide Box Office Take Rises To $1.73 Billion

Shares of Walt Disney Co (NYSE: DIS) were trading higher by 0.78 percent early Monday morning following a report by Variety that "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" continues to perform well internationally, particularly in China.

According to Variety, the Star Wars film saw a record-breaking $53 million in box office sales in China when the film opened on Saturday. The publication noted that this represents the best Saturday or Sunday opening day sales in China.

The seventh installment in the sci-fi/fantasy franchise continued to perform well internationally as Variety reported that the film picked up another $104.3 million in box office sales -- bringing its worldwide box office sales to a "massive" $1.73 billion.

The film now ranks as the third highest-grossing film in history after surpassing "Jurassic World" and its total of $1.67 billion in global box office sales.